* Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fired Defence Minister Yoav Gallant on Tuesday, citing a "crisis of trust", and replaced him with close ally Israel Katz to lead the country's war in Gaza and Lebanon.
* South Africa has temporarily closed its main border crossing with Mozambique over safety concerns, its government news agency said on Wednesday, as protests against last month's disputed election in Mozambique continue to escalate.
* Australia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have officially upgraded their trade relationship to a comprehensive partnership.
* The European Union expects to close the trade agreement with South American bloc Mercosur by the end of the year, the EU commissioner for crisis management told Reuters late last week, although noting there were still differences to be solved.
* Zimbabwe will host an extraordinary Southern African Development Community (SADC) Summit of Heads of State and Government later this month in Harare, the country's capital, to discuss emerging issues of regional significance, a cabinet minister said Tuesday.
* South Africa's Minister of Electricity and Energy Kgosientsho Ramokgopa on Tuesday called on African countries to harness the potential of Africa's rich renewable energy resources to forge an inclusive and sustainable path for the continent.
* UN agencies and partners continue to deliver humanitarian aid to the crisis-impacted people in Lebanon amid escalating hostilities, Stephane Dujarric, spokesperson for the UN chief, said at a daily briefing on Tuesday.
* Two drones launched from Iraq towards Israel's Red Sea city of Eilat were intercepted on Tuesday night, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement.
* At least 216 Syrian refugees in Lebanon have been killed over the past 50 days amid Israel's intensified strikes in Lebanon, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported Tuesday.
* The number of private business entities in China had exceeded 180.86 million by the end of September 2024, accounting for 96.37 percent of the country's total business entities, the State Administration for Market Regulation said Wednesday. Of the total, 55.54 million were private companies while over 125.32 million were self-employed businesses.
* Inflation in Laos dropped slightly in October to 20.7 percent, down from 21.7 percent in September and 24.3 percent in August, according to the latest report from the Lao Statistics Bureau.
* Indonesia's economy grew at a slower rate of 4.95 percent year-on-year in the third quarter of this year, down from the 5.05 percent growth recorded in the second quarter, Statistics Indonesia (BPS) announced on Tuesday.
* Cambodia approved 346 fixed-asset investment projects worth 5.5 billion USD during the first 10 months of 2024, generating over 266,000 jobs, said a Council for the Development of Cambodia (CDC)'s report on Tuesday.
* The Austrian government's budget deficit for 2024 and 2025 is expected to reach 3.9 percent and 4.1 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) respectively, significantly surpassing the Maastricht criteria of 3 percent, the fiscal council said Tuesday in a press release.
* Unemployment rate in the Philippines fell to 3.7 percent in September from 4 percent in August, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said Wednesday.
* New Zealand's unemployment continued to grow, with more people remaining unemployed for longer periods, and unemployment rate remained near four-year high, the statistics department Stats NZ said on Wednesday.
* India's palm oil imports surged 59% in October to a three-month high compared to the previous month, as refiners boosted purchases to replenish stocks depleted by lower-than-usual imports in recent months and strong festive demand, five dealers said.
* At least 89 people remain missing after deadly floods in eastern Spain, the regional judicial authorities in Valencia said on Tuesday, and Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said he was earmarking 10.6 billion euros ($11.6 billion) to help victims.
* The Malawian government has mobilized 181 million USD in cash and in-kind humanitarian aid to support over 2 million food-insecure families nationwide.
* The Indonesian government plans to permanently relocate thousands of residents after a series of eruptions of Mount Lewotobi Laki-laki volcano which killed nine people and damaged thousands of houses, officials said.
* Residents of a town in the Australian state of Queensland have been evacuated due to a threat posed by a fast-moving bushfire.
* The UK government said on Tuesday that cases of bird flu had been confirmed in commercial poultry at premises in Yorkshire, hours after it increased the risk level of the disease from medium to high.
