* The Bank of the Lao PDR (BOL), the Lao central bank, reduced its 7-day base interest rate from 8 percent to 7 percent to help maintain monetary stability, according to a BOL report on Saturday.
* Russian air defense systems intercepted and destroyed 250 Ukrainian drones within 12 hours, said the Russian Defense Ministry on Saturday. From 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Moscow time, Russian air defense systems shot down 250 Ukrainian fixed-wing drones across 19 regions, including Moscow, according to a statement released by the ministry.
* U.S. KC-135 tanker aircraft deployed at Bulgaria's Bezmer Air Base have left the Balkan country well before the end of their authorized stay, Bulgarian officials said Saturday.
* Hungary's Paks nuclear power plant restarted Turbine 6 of Unit 3 on Saturday as emergency construction measures and rising water levels in the Danube River improved cooling conditions, Prime Minister Peter Magyar said.
* Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Saturday delivered a nationally televised address to outline Canada's position following the breakdown of trade talks with the United States, announcing that Ottawa's "dollar-for-dollar" retaliatory tariffs against 20 billion U.S. dollars' worth of American goods would take effect on Sept. 8.
* An ongoing strike by Norwegian air traffic controllers caused widespread flight disruptions on Saturday, with Oslo Airport set to suspend air traffic for five hours on Sunday morning. Airports in western Norway were also affected on Saturday.
* The Afghan government has distributed humanitarian assistance valued at 2.612 million USD to 31,320 returnees and internally displaced families over the past month, the Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation said in a statement on Sunday.
* Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty and Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Mustafa discussed on Saturday efforts to implement the roadmap for the Gaza agreement and the latest developments in the occupied West Bank, according to a statement by the Egyptian Foreign Ministry.
* A senior Iranian security official on Saturday warned neighboring countries and other states against joining the United States in its "economic pressure campaign" against Iran, saying Tehran would regard such countries as "enemies."
* Iran's Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf said Saturday that Iran has received "numerous" messages from neighboring countries about "shaping new security arrangements and economic cooperation" in the region.
* The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on Saturday that it fired toward a militant who was in the final stages of preparing an attack in southern Syria.
* Sri Lanka has recorded a gradual decline in fish harvests within its territorial waters since 2014, according to the National Aquatic Resources Research and Development Agency (NARA), local news outlet The Morning reported Saturday.
* Cambodia's Ministry of Health on Saturday urged parents and caregivers to exercise caution following a recent spike in hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) cases, particularly among children under five.
* Australia has confirmed its first case of H5 bird flu in a mammal after a long-nosed fur seal in the state of South Australia tested positive for the virus, authorities said on Sunday.
* India's federal health ministry on Saturday listed symptoms to watch for H1N1 influenza cases and urged people to remain alert.
* A powerful cyclone swept northward across the three Baltic states on Saturday, killing two as strong winds, torrential rain and thunderstorms ravaged Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. Meteorological data showed Saturday's storm was the most destructive to hit Latvia since January 2005.
* China's Ministry of Water Resources on Saturday activated a Level-IV emergency response to flooding in Guangdong, Guangxi and Hainan, as Typhoon Narra is forecast to bring torrential rains to southern China.
