* Moldova will hold parliamentary elections on Sept. 28, following a vote in the legislature on Thursday. The decision was approved by 57 lawmakers and will take effect once published in the country's official journal.
* China's top legislator Zhao Leji has stressed the importance of maintaining confidence and composure, and leveraging strength and institutional advantages to fulfill goals set in the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025) and lay a solid foundation for the next five years.
* Myanmar's State Administration Council pardoned over 4,900 prisoners in an amnesty on Thursday, the first day of the Myanmar calendar New Year.
* The Fijian cabinet has endorsed a request from the Philippines to establish an embassy in Suva, capital of Fiji, according to a local media report on Thursday.
* The Elysee's decision to recall its ambassador to Algeria and expel 12 Algerian diplomatic staff stationed in France is "regrettable," an Algerian official said Wednesday, holding a French minister responsible for the recent deterioration in bilateral ties.
* Visiting Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, who held talks with his Croatian counterpart Andrej Plenkovic on Wednesday, criticized the warning of Kaja Kallas, the European Union's high representative for foreign affairs and security Policy, against travelling to Moscow.
* Mexico has delivered a diplomatic note to the United States after reports emerged that Washington is considering establishing a new military base near the shared border to deter irregular migration, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Wednesday.
* Latvia's parliament on Wednesday approved in its final reading a bill to withdraw from the Ottawa Convention banning the use of anti-personnel mines.
* Tunisian Prime Minister Sarra Zaafrani Zenzri met in Tunis on Wednesday with Egyptian Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade Hassan El Khatib to explore ways to deepen bilateral economic cooperation and trade exchanges.
* Italy's capital Rome will be the venue for the second round of indirect negotiations between Tehran and Washington, Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said.
* Israel said on Thursday it carried out airstrikes in southern Lebanon and the Gaza Strip, targeting what it described as Hamas and Hezbollah infrastructure.
* Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday instructed Israeli negotiators to "continue the steps" for the release of hostages still held in Gaza, his office said, as efforts to revive the ceasefire appeared to be stalled.
* At least 19 Palestinians were killed on Wednesday in Israeli attacks on various areas of the Gaza Strip, according to Gaza's Civil Defense.
* Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi highlighted Tehran's determination to continue cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
* Iraq's Foreign Ministry summoned the Lebanese ambassador to Iraq Ali al-Habhab on Wednesday to protest comments by Lebanese President Joseph Aoun regarding the Iraqi paramilitary Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF).
* At least 62 civilians were killed in a shelling by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur State, in western Sudan, the Sudanese army announced on Thursday.
* A total of 1,072 Afghan families with 5,671 people returned to their homeland from neighboring Iran and Pakistan on Wednesday, Afghanistan's High Commission for Addressing Returnees Problems said in a statement Thursday.
* China is ready to work with the European Union (EU) to strengthen dialogue and communication, expand mutual opening-up, deepen practical cooperation, and jointly safeguard the rules-based multilateral trading system with the World Trade Organization (WTO) at its core, a Chinese Ministry of Commerce spokesperson said on Thursday.
* Indonesia is targeting Russia as a new potential market for trade and investment against the backdrop of the imposition of the so-called U.S. reciprocal tariffs.
* Thailand's economic growth could take a significant hit from escalating global trade tensions, with U.S. tariff measures threatening to disrupt exports, investment, and financial stability, the Thai central bank said on Thursday.
* Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has said that he would stand up for national interests in response to U.S. tariffs during the second leaders' debate of the election campaign.
* The world economy is on a recessionary trajectory, with global growth expected to slow to 2.3 percent in 2025 due to rising trade tensions and uncertainty, the United Nations Trade and Development (UNCTAD) said in a report released on Wednesday.
* The volume of global merchandise trade is expected to decline by 0.2 percent in 2025 under current tariff conditions, nearly 3 percentage points lower than the previous forecast based on a "low tariff" scenario, the World Trade Organization (WTO) said in its latest Global Trade Outlook and Statistics report released on Wednesday.
* U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell warned on Wednesday that the administration's tariff hikes are likely to cause a short-term rise in inflation, while supply chain disruptions could lead to more persistent pressure.
* The European Central Bank (ECB) on Thursday decided to cut key interest rates by 25 basis points, bringing the deposit facility rate down to 2.25 percent.
* Republic of Korea's central bank on Thursday froze its policy rate amid lingering uncertainties such as massive household debts and the local currency's depreciation against the USD.
* The Bank of Canada decided on Wednesday to maintain its policy rate at 2.75 percent.
* Turkey’s central bank raised its key interest rate by 350 points on Thursday, from 42.5 percent to 46 percent, reversing its previous easing cycle.
* Credit rating agency Fitch Ratings on Wednesday affirmed Mexico's sovereign credit rating at "BBB-" with a "stable" outlook, but warned the country's economic slowdown could worsen due to increasingly protectionist trade policy of the United States.
* Australia's unemployment rate rose slightly in March, according to official figures published on Thursday. The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) said that the official unemployment rate was 4.1 percent in March, up from 4.0 percent in February.
* Prices in Italy rose 1.9 percent in March, marking the highest year-on-year increase in 30 months, according to data released Wednesday by ISTAT, the country's National Statistics Institute.
* The cost of rice imports by Mozambique surged in 2024, reaching 441 million USD, according to a recent report by the Bank of Mozambique.
* Indonesia is planning to build two additional Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) plants by the end of this year as the Southeast Asian nation aims to strengthen domestic energy supply and reduce dependence on imports.
* Singapore's non-oil domestic exports (NODX) rose by 5.4 percent year-on-year in March, easing from the 7.6 percent increase recorded in February, according to data released by Enterprise Singapore on Thursday.
* Europe experienced its hottest year on record in 2024, marked by deadly floods, prolonged heatwaves, and unprecedented climate extremes, according to a joint report released this week by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S).
* Climate change is set to significantly disrupt global blood supplies, with Australia particularly vulnerable to the effects of extreme weather, rising disease rates, and shifting donor health patterns, Australian Red Cross Lifeblood said on Thursday.
* Nepal has issued permits to 704 climbers, including 156 females, for ascending 21 mountains in the country during the spring climbing season which runs through May, an official said on Thursday.
