diff --git a/CHANGES.md b/CHANGES.md
index dda7020b19..0ddce501b4 100644
--- a/CHANGES.md
+++ b/CHANGES.md
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ New styles:
   none.
 
 Improvements:
+- enh(xml) support for highlighting entities (#2260) [w3suli][]
 - enh(gml) fix naming of keyword class (consistency fix) (#2254) [Liam Nobel][]
 - enh(javascript): Add support for jsdoc comments (#2245) [Milutin Kristofic][]
 - ehh(build) Add CI check for building a "use strict" safe rollup package from NPM builds (#2247) [Josh Goebel][]
@@ -18,11 +19,16 @@ Improvements:
 - fix(parser): Fix merger HTML attribute quoting (#2235) [Josh Goebel][]
 - fix(parser): Look-ahead regex now work for end matches also (#2237) [Josh Goebel][]
 - fix(parser): Better errors when a language is missing (#2236) [Josh Goebel][]
+- fix(go): Fix escaped character literals (#2266) [David Benjamin][]
+- fix(objectivec): Fix various preprocessor highlighting issues (#2265) [David Benjamin][]
+- fix(objectivec): Handle multibyte character literals (#2268) [David Benjamin][]
 
 [Josh Goebel]: https://github.com/yyyc514
 [Liam Nobel]: https://github.com/liamnobel
 [Carl Baxter]: https://github.com/cdbax
 [Milutin Kristofic]: https://github.com/milutin
+[w3suli]: https://github.com/w3suli
+[David Benjamin]: https://github.com/davidben
 
 
 ## Version 9.16.2
diff --git a/src/highlight.js b/src/highlight.js
index 3b34f49811..8a2d8f8855 100644
--- a/src/highlight.js
+++ b/src/highlight.js
@@ -642,7 +642,7 @@ https://highlightjs.org/
           mode_buffer = lexeme;
         }
       }
-      mode = startNewMode(new_mode, lexeme);
+      mode = startNewMode(new_mode);
       if (mode.onBegin) {
         mode.onBegin(match.raw, mode.userState)
       }
@@ -685,7 +685,7 @@ https://highlightjs.org/
         if (end_mode.endSameAsBegin) {
           end_mode.starts.endRe = end_mode.endRe;
         }
-        startNewMode(end_mode.starts, '');
+        startNewMode(end_mode.starts);
       }
       return origin.returnEnd ? 0 : lexeme.length;
     }
diff --git a/src/languages/cpp.js b/src/languages/cpp.js
index 8cf95f1537..5ff310fe95 100644
--- a/src/languages/cpp.js
+++ b/src/languages/cpp.js
@@ -61,7 +61,7 @@ function(hljs) {
       hljs.inherit(STRINGS, {className: 'meta-string'}),
       {
         className: 'meta-string',
-        begin: /<[^\n>]*>/, end: /$/,
+        begin: /<.*?>/, end: /$/,
         illegal: '\\n',
       },
       hljs.C_LINE_COMMENT_MODE,
diff --git a/src/languages/go.js b/src/languages/go.js
index f473483c1b..5b6aff34d8 100644
--- a/src/languages/go.js
+++ b/src/languages/go.js
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ function(hljs) {
         className: 'string',
         variants: [
           hljs.QUOTE_STRING_MODE,
-          {begin: '\'', end: '[^\\\\]\''},
+          hljs.APOS_STRING_MODE,
           {begin: '`', end: '`'},
         ]
       },
diff --git a/src/languages/objectivec.js b/src/languages/objectivec.js
index 1666428f71..1a4a9fe1cc 100644
--- a/src/languages/objectivec.js
+++ b/src/languages/objectivec.js
@@ -53,6 +53,7 @@ function(hljs) {
       hljs.C_BLOCK_COMMENT_MODE,
       hljs.C_NUMBER_MODE,
       hljs.QUOTE_STRING_MODE,
+      hljs.APOS_STRING_MODE,
       {
         className: 'string',
         variants: [
@@ -60,25 +61,29 @@ function(hljs) {
             begin: '@"', end: '"',
             illegal: '\\n',
             contains: [hljs.BACKSLASH_ESCAPE]
-          },
-          {
-            begin: '\'', end: '[^\\\\]\'',
-            illegal: '[^\\\\][^\']'
           }
         ]
       },
       {
         className: 'meta',
-        begin: '#',
-        end: '$',
+        begin: /#\s*[a-z]+\b/, end: /$/,
+        keywords: {
+          'meta-keyword':
+            'if else elif endif define undef warning error line ' +
+            'pragma ifdef ifndef include'
+        },
         contains: [
+          {
+            begin: /\\\n/, relevance: 0
+          },
+          hljs.inherit(hljs.QUOTE_STRING_MODE, {className: 'meta-string'}),
           {
             className: 'meta-string',
-            variants: [
-              { begin: '\"', end: '\"' },
-              { begin: '<', end: '>' }
-            ]
-          }
+            begin: /<.*?>/, end: /$/,
+            illegal: '\\n',
+          },
+          hljs.C_LINE_COMMENT_MODE,
+          hljs.C_BLOCK_COMMENT_MODE
         ]
       },
       {
diff --git a/src/languages/xml.js b/src/languages/xml.js
index 1f16442735..3eb47ed10b 100644
--- a/src/languages/xml.js
+++ b/src/languages/xml.js
@@ -6,6 +6,10 @@ Category: common
 
 function(hljs) {
   var XML_IDENT_RE = '[A-Za-z0-9\\._:-]+';
+    var XML_ENTITIES = {
+    className: 'symbol',
+    begin: '&[a-z]+;|&#[0-9]+;|&#x[a-f0-9]+;'
+  };
   var TAG_INTERNALS = {
     endsWithParent: true,
     illegal: /</,
@@ -24,8 +28,8 @@ function(hljs) {
             className: 'string',
             endsParent: true,
             variants: [
-              {begin: /"/, end: /"/},
-              {begin: /'/, end: /'/},
+              {begin: /"/, end: /"/, contains: [XML_ENTITIES]},
+              {begin: /'/, end: /'/, contains: [XML_ENTITIES]},
               {begin: /[^\s"'=<>`]+/}
             ]
           }
@@ -41,7 +45,9 @@ function(hljs) {
         className: 'meta',
         begin: '<!DOCTYPE', end: '>',
         relevance: 10,
-        contains: [{begin: '\\[', end: '\\]'}]
+        contains: [
+          {begin: '\\[', end: '\\]'}
+        ]
       },
       hljs.COMMENT(
         '<!--',
@@ -54,6 +60,7 @@ function(hljs) {
         begin: '<\\!\\[CDATA\\[', end: '\\]\\]>',
         relevance: 10
       },
+      XML_ENTITIES,
       {
         className: 'meta',
         begin: /<\?xml/, end: /\?>/, relevance: 10
diff --git a/test/markup/cpp/preprocessor.expect.txt b/test/markup/cpp/preprocessor.expect.txt
index 62fff51bcc..2a7548ebc8 100644
--- a/test/markup/cpp/preprocessor.expect.txt
+++ b/test/markup/cpp/preprocessor.expect.txt
@@ -11,3 +11,9 @@
 <span class="hljs-meta">#<span class="hljs-meta-keyword">define</span> x(v) ((v))</span>
 <span class="hljs-meta"># <span class="hljs-meta-keyword">define</span> x(v) ((v))</span>
 <span class="hljs-meta">#  <span class="hljs-meta-keyword">define</span> x(v) ((v))</span>
+
+<span class="hljs-meta">#<span class="hljs-meta-keyword">if</span> MACRO_WITH_STRING_ARG(<span class="hljs-meta-string">"hello \"world\""</span>)</span>
+<span class="hljs-meta">#<span class="hljs-meta-keyword">elif</span> MULTI_LINE <span class="hljs-comment">/* comment */</span> &lt; \
+    EXPRESSION</span>
+<span class="hljs-keyword">int</span> bar;
+<span class="hljs-meta">#<span class="hljs-meta-keyword">endif</span>  <span class="hljs-comment">// comment</span></span>
diff --git a/test/markup/cpp/preprocessor.txt b/test/markup/cpp/preprocessor.txt
index b1ad6a67ff..01372cbfcd 100644
--- a/test/markup/cpp/preprocessor.txt
+++ b/test/markup/cpp/preprocessor.txt
@@ -11,3 +11,9 @@ int foo(void)
 #define x(v) ((v))
 # define x(v) ((v))
 #  define x(v) ((v))
+
+#if MACRO_WITH_STRING_ARG("hello \"world\"")
+#elif MULTI_LINE /* comment */ < \
+    EXPRESSION
+int bar;
+#endif  // comment
diff --git a/test/markup/go/strings.expect.txt b/test/markup/go/strings.expect.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..b5c604552b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/markup/go/strings.expect.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+<span class="hljs-function"><span class="hljs-keyword">func</span> <span class="hljs-title">main</span><span class="hljs-params">()</span></span> {
+	str := <span class="hljs-string">"Hello, 世界\nHello \"world\"\nHello 'world'"</span>
+	char := <span class="hljs-string">'a'</span>
+	char2 := <span class="hljs-string">'"'</span>
+	char3 := <span class="hljs-string">'\\'</span>
+	char3 := <span class="hljs-string">'\''</span>
+}
diff --git a/test/markup/go/strings.txt b/test/markup/go/strings.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..6de354fc8b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/markup/go/strings.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+func main() {
+	str := "Hello, 世界\nHello \"world\"\nHello 'world'"
+	char := 'a'
+	char2 := '"'
+	char3 := '\\'
+	char3 := '\''
+}
diff --git a/test/markup/objectivec/preprocessor.expect.txt b/test/markup/objectivec/preprocessor.expect.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..9002811ef6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/markup/objectivec/preprocessor.expect.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,19 @@
+<span class="hljs-meta">#<span class="hljs-meta-keyword">include</span> <span class="hljs-meta-string">&lt;iostream&gt;</span></span>
+<span class="hljs-meta">#<span class="hljs-meta-keyword">define</span> foo 1&lt;&lt;16</span>
+
+<span class="hljs-meta">#<span class="hljs-meta-keyword">ifdef</span> DEBUG</span>
+TYPE1 foo(<span class="hljs-keyword">void</span>)
+<span class="hljs-meta">#<span class="hljs-meta-keyword">else</span></span>
+<span class="hljs-keyword">int</span> foo(<span class="hljs-keyword">void</span>)
+<span class="hljs-meta">#<span class="hljs-meta-keyword">endif</span></span>
+{ }
+
+<span class="hljs-meta">#<span class="hljs-meta-keyword">define</span> x(v) ((v))</span>
+<span class="hljs-meta"># <span class="hljs-meta-keyword">define</span> x(v) ((v))</span>
+<span class="hljs-meta">#  <span class="hljs-meta-keyword">define</span> x(v) ((v))</span>
+
+<span class="hljs-meta">#<span class="hljs-meta-keyword">if</span> MACRO_WITH_STRING_ARG(<span class="hljs-meta-string">"hello \"world\""</span>)</span>
+<span class="hljs-meta">#<span class="hljs-meta-keyword">elif</span> MULTI_LINE <span class="hljs-comment">/* comment */</span> &lt; \
+    EXPRESSION</span>
+<span class="hljs-keyword">int</span> bar;
+<span class="hljs-meta">#<span class="hljs-meta-keyword">endif</span>  <span class="hljs-comment">// comment</span></span>
diff --git a/test/markup/objectivec/preprocessor.txt b/test/markup/objectivec/preprocessor.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..01372cbfcd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/markup/objectivec/preprocessor.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,19 @@
+#include <iostream>
+#define foo 1<<16
+
+#ifdef DEBUG
+TYPE1 foo(void)
+#else
+int foo(void)
+#endif
+{ }
+
+#define x(v) ((v))
+# define x(v) ((v))
+#  define x(v) ((v))
+
+#if MACRO_WITH_STRING_ARG("hello \"world\"")
+#elif MULTI_LINE /* comment */ < \
+    EXPRESSION
+int bar;
+#endif  // comment
diff --git a/test/markup/objectivec/string-literals.expect.txt b/test/markup/objectivec/string-literals.expect.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..1accd83881
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/markup/objectivec/string-literals.expect.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+<span class="hljs-keyword">const</span> <span class="hljs-keyword">char</span> *str = <span class="hljs-string">"Regular \"quoted\" string\n"</span>;
+<span class="hljs-built_in">NSString</span> *nsstr = <span class="hljs-string">@"Obj-C \"quoted\" string\n"</span>;
+<span class="hljs-keyword">char</span> c = <span class="hljs-string">'c'</span>;
+<span class="hljs-keyword">char</span> c2 = <span class="hljs-string">'"'</span>;
+<span class="hljs-keyword">char</span> c3 = <span class="hljs-string">'\''</span>;
+<span class="hljs-keyword">char</span> c4 = <span class="hljs-string">'\n'</span>;
+<span class="hljs-keyword">int</span> multibyte_char = <span class="hljs-string">'abcd'</span>;
diff --git a/test/markup/objectivec/string-literals.txt b/test/markup/objectivec/string-literals.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..e1d4022ac2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/markup/objectivec/string-literals.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+const char *str = "Regular \"quoted\" string\n";
+NSString *nsstr = @"Obj-C \"quoted\" string\n";
+char c = 'c';
+char c2 = '"';
+char c3 = '\'';
+char c4 = '\n';
+int multibyte_char = 'abcd';
diff --git a/test/markup/twig/template_tags.expect.txt b/test/markup/twig/template_tags.expect.txt
index d62d50bc8f..5016887343 100644
--- a/test/markup/twig/template_tags.expect.txt
+++ b/test/markup/twig/template_tags.expect.txt
@@ -1,10 +1,10 @@
 <span class="hljs-template-tag">{% <span class="hljs-name"><span class="hljs-keyword">if</span></span> posts|<span class="hljs-keyword">length</span> %}</span><span class="xml">
   </span><span class="hljs-template-tag">{% <span class="hljs-name"><span class="hljs-keyword">for</span></span> article in articles %}</span><span class="xml">
-  &amp;lt;div&amp;gt;
+  <span class="hljs-symbol">&amp;lt;</span>div<span class="hljs-symbol">&amp;gt;</span>
   </span><span class="hljs-template-variable">{{ article.title|<span class="hljs-keyword">upper</span>() }}</span><span class="xml">
 
   </span><span class="hljs-comment">{# outputs 'WELCOME' #}</span><span class="xml">
-  &amp;lt;/div&amp;gt;
+  <span class="hljs-symbol">&amp;lt;</span>/div<span class="hljs-symbol">&amp;gt;</span>
   </span><span class="hljs-template-tag">{% <span class="hljs-name"><span class="hljs-keyword">endfor</span></span> %}</span><span class="xml">
 </span><span class="hljs-template-tag">{% <span class="hljs-name"><span class="hljs-keyword">endif</span></span> %}</span><span class="xml">