* Cambodia is considering an extension of its pilot visa exemption scheme for Chinese nationals and exploring similar visa waivers for other high-potential source markets to revive its struggling tourism sector.
* Republic of Korean President Lee Jae Myung said on Thursday that the RoK and China should become mutually dependent and mutually beneficial partners with complementary strengths. Lee made the remarks when meeting with Wang Yi, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and Chinese foreign minister, in Seoul.
* There are currently no grounds for optimism about a peaceful settlement of the Ukraine crisis due to Ukraine's position, and Russia's special military operation is continuing, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Thursday.
* Explosions were heard in the Ukrainian capital of Kiev early Thursday as the city came under a Russian ballistic missile attack, according to Mayor Vitali Klitschko.
* Russian President Vladimir Putin has identified launching a new investment cycle in industry, agriculture, services and housing as a key priority for the national economy during a meeting of the Council for Strategic Development and National Projects on Wednesday.
* Pakistan on Wednesday summoned the U.S. charge d'affaires in Islamabad to lodge a strong protest over remarks made by the U.S. ambassador to India regarding the status of Jammu and Kashmir during a visit to Indian-controlled Kashmir, the Foreign Ministry said.
* U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday what he described as "the most crushing economic operation ever taken" against any country providing a lifeline to Iran.
* U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday suggested that talks with Tehran could start again "at some point," claiming the situation with Iran is "so good."
* Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Wednesday that negotiating with the United States did not mean surrender. At a conference in Tehran, Pezeshkian stressed the need to defend Iran's territorial integrity, according to a statement posted on his office's website.
* Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs Kazem Gharibabadi said Wednesday that the United States is now further pressuring Iran under the label of an "economic war," which he views as an attempt to cover up Washington's previous failure.
* UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday expressed alarm over reports of new illegal Israeli settlement outposts in the occupied West Bank and called on Israel to cease further actions in this regard.
* An Israeli military operation launched in the southern West Bank on Wednesday put an estimated 40,000 Palestinian residents under curfew, blocking their access to daily necessities, UN humanitarians said.
* Egypt, Qatar and Türkiye, the mediating countries in the Gaza conflict, on Wednesday condemned the latest Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip.
* Yemen's Houthi group said Thursday it had carried out two drone attacks targeting an airport and an oil facility in Saudi Arabia's southern region of Najran.
* Türkiye on Thursday dismissed allegations of a Turkish military presence at a Syrian airbase recently targeted by an Israeli airstrike.
* The Jakarta provincial government aims to have at least 10,047 electric buses operating in the city by 2030 as part of efforts to reduce emissions and air pollution, Jakarta Governor Pramono Anung Wibowo said Thursday.
* The U.S. national debt has surpassed 40 trillion dollars for the first time in history, according to data released by the Treasury Department on Wednesday. The data shows that debt held by the public and intragovernmental holdings stood at 32.266 trillion dollars and 7.782 trillion dollars, respectively, bringing total public debt outstanding to 40.047 trillion dollars as of Tuesday.
* Armenia's exports to the European Union (EU) exceeded 516 million USD in the first half of 2026, up more than 80 percent year on year, the Armenian government said in a social media post on Wednesday. Exports to the EU totaled about 287 million dollars during the same period in 2025, according to the government.
* Australia's unemployment rate rose slightly to 4.5 percent in July, according to official data released on Thursday, defying economists' expectations that it would hold at 4.4 percent.
* The unemployment rate in Slovakia stood at 4.07 percent at the end of July, up by 0.1 percent month-on-month, Slovak Labour, Social Affairs and the Family Centre (UPSVaR) reported on Thursday.
* Residents of two towns in the southwestern Madrid region were ordered to remain indoors on Wednesday after a wildfire broke out near a regional road, local emergency services said.
* Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella on Wednesday signed a decree declaring a 30-day state of economic, social and ecological emergency in parts of the country hit by the Aug. 10 earthquake.
* The Indonesian government has disbursed an initial 44 billion rupiah (about 2.5 million USD) to support disaster response in earthquake-hit areas of East Nusa Tenggara province, Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa said Wednesday.
* Thailand has declared a disaster zone in Nan and put two other northern provinces on alert as heavy rain and flash flooding cut off roads and forced evacuations, the government said on Wednesday.
* The death toll from a magnitude-7.7 earthquake that struck Indonesia's East Nusa Tenggara province has risen to 75, with 907 people injured and nearly 93,000 displaced, the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) said Thursday.
* Wildfire activity across Canada remains severe, with 582 active fires currently burning, including 31 classified as out of control, the Canadian federal government has said in an update.
* Indonesian authorities detected 1,487 hotspots across Kalimantan as of Thursday as wildfire risk rises, with more than half recorded in Central Kalimantan, the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) said.
* Sri Lanka has issued a circular to help ensure uninterrupted water supplies in areas that could face drought conditions linked to a future El Nino event, Environment Minister Dammika Patabendi said on Thursday.
