* UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday called for dialogue and negotiations to find a comprehensive and durable settlement of the conflict in the Gulf and the Red Sea.
* Zambia held general elections on Thursday, with about 8.7 million registered voters casting ballots for president, National Assembly members and local representatives. The election covers 226 constituencies and 1,858 wards, with polling set to close at 6 p.m. local time (1600 GMT).
* China's Ministry of Public Security (MPS) said on Thursday that Chinese and Thai police recently worked together to bust a major cross-border credit card fraud ring targeting Chinese citizens, arresting nine suspects.
* Russian President Vladimir Putin has visited the Far Eastern Kuril Island of Iturup, Russian media reported on Thursday. According to TASS news agency, Putin has visited the Kuril Island of Iturup after attending the final stage of the Pacific Fleet drills in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk.
* Two people were killed in a Russian drone strike on a passenger train in Ukraine on Thursday, Ukrainian state railway company Ukrzaliznytsia reported.
* The Danish government on Wednesday defended the country's participation in the Schengen area while calling for tougher European migration rules and pushing ahead with plans to establish return centers outside the European Union (EU).
* China will continue to impose anti-dumping duties on imports of single-mode optical fiber originating from India for five more years starting Aug. 14, 2026, the Ministry of Commerce said on Thursday.
* Foreign investors have injected 5 billion USD into Belarusian real economy from January to June 2026, National Statistical Committee of Belarus said on Wednesday. This influx of investment includes 3.8 billion in direct foreign investments, accounting for 75.3 percent of the total foreign investments received.
* Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday cautioned that NATO's plans to deploy new weapons in the Asia-Pacific region pose a threat to Russia.
* U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday claimed that the United States has "total control" over the Strait of Hormuz and will "keep it." Trump said on Truth Social that the U.S. naval blockade of the waterway had been described as a "wall of steel" and said Iran lacked the capability to challenge it.
* Iran's Persian Gulf Strait Authority (PGSA), the body responsible for maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, has rejected claims by U.S. officials that the waterway is open.
* Israel's military chief ordered an infantry battalion to the occupied West Bank on Wednesday after troops and police failed to disperse settlers who have blockaded a Palestinian home for several days.
* The Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) said Wednesday it will participate in the Palestinian legislative elections due in November.
* Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reiterated his support for the two-state solution based on the 1967 borders during a live-streamed joint press conference with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas here on Wednesday.
* The International Maritime Organization Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez on Wednesday condemned the attack on a cargo ship off the coast of Mocha, Yemen.
* Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi on Wednesday told visiting Commander of U.S. Central Command Brad Cooper that Sept. 30 remains the firm deadline for ending the U.S.-led coalition's military mission in Iraq and completing its troop withdrawal.
* Romania has started the shutdown of its sole nuclear power plant as the water level of Danube River dropped to record low, according to the plant's operator Nuclearelectrica.
* The U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve has dropped to as low as 298.7 million barrels as of the week ending Aug. 7, hitting the lowest level since January 1983, according to data issued by the U.S. Energy Information Administration on Wednesday.
* Malaysia's labor demand expanded 1.7 percent year on year in the second quarter of 2026, with the total number of jobs reaching 9.25 million, official data showed on Thursday.
* The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and its partners continue to support the government-led response to the devastating earthquake in Colombia, said the office on Wednesday.
* The death toll from Monday's earthquake in Colombia has risen to 265, with 3,494 people injured and 496 still missing, Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella said Wednesday. The president said more than 53,000 people had been affected by the disaster.
* More than 90 people have tested positive for Vibrio cholerae in Myanmar's Yangon region, the Ministry of Health said Thursday. A total of 171 people are currently hospitalized for diarrhea symptoms in Yangon, including 54 with severe cases, and one death has been reported.
