* Lao Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone has called for agriculture and forestry departments to boost domestic productivity for export and minimize imports of products that Laos produces, local media reported Wednesday.
* The Missile Administration of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on Wednesday conducted the first test-fire of the new-type strategic cruise missile "Pulhwasal-3-31" under development, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported on Thursday.
* More than 4.3 million people in Cambodia have so far participated in the country's plastic-free campaign, according to a Ministry of Environment's news release on Thursday.
* Sri Lanka's cabinet has granted approval presented by President Ranil Wickremesinghe to sign a free trade agreement (FTA) with Thailand, the government's information department said on Thursday.
* At least 50 Palestinians were killed in Khan Younis in the past 24 hours, Ashraf Al-Qidra, the spokesman for the Health Ministry in Hamas-controlled Gaza, told Reuters on Thursday.
* British Foreign Secretary David Cameron said he told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that more aid trucks must be able to enter Gaza and an immediate humanitarian pause is needed to help those trapped in a "desperate situation".
* The United Nations on Wednesday asked Yemen's Houthi authorities to reconsider their decision to expel U.S. and British nationals working for the world body in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen.
* The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) on Wednesday kicked off "Exercise Steadfast Defender 2024," its largest military drills in decades.
* Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Wednesday discussed defense support for Ukraine in a phone conversation.
* Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on Wednesday pledged to urge his country's National Assembly to ratify Sweden's NATO accession.
* Yemen's Houthi group said it hit an American warship on Wednesday in the Gulf of Aden and the Bab al-Mandab strait, according to a video statement from the group's spokesman.
* Up to 33 soldiers and high-ranking officers have been expelled from Venezuela's Bolivarian National Armed Forces (FANB) for plotting against the government, the Defense Ministry said Wednesday.
* Sixty migrants were rescued from a small boat off Cyprus on Wednesday after being stranded at sea for days, the country's Joint Rescue Coordination Center (JRCC) said Wednesday.
* At least 30 people have been killed and several others injured in Nigeria's central Plateau state in a series of attacks around Mangu town, despite a curfew imposed by the state government, a community spokesperson said.
* Nepal started the first batch of exports on Thursday under transit deals with China, five months after the South Asian country shipped its first batch of imported goods via the northern neighbor.
* The Federal Reserve announced on Wednesday that it will allow its Bank Term Funding Program to expire as scheduled on March 11, as it wraps up a lifeline program created for banks during last spring's lender turmoil.
* The Republic of Korea's gross domestic product (GDP) marked the lowest growth in three years in 2023 due to sluggish consumption, caused by high interest rates and inflation, central bank data showed Thursday.
* The Bank of Canada on Wednesday held its target for policy rate at 5 percent.
* A tropical cyclone off the coast of northern Australia was upgraded to the "severe" category three on Thursday, hours before it was set to make landfall along the coastline bordering the Great Barrier Reef, the second such cyclone in the area since December.
* Japan's weather agency on Thursday said further heavy snow is forecast in the country's north-to-west regions facing the Sea of Japan, urging residents to be vigilant after many vehicles were left stranded.
* A strong marine heatwave is contributing to New Zealand's unusually hot weather, which is also a reason for the North Island to experience above-normal humidity levels, keeping nighttime temperatures elevated.
* Last year, temperatures in Slovenia were the highest on record since measurements started, surpassing the previous record year of 2022, the country's Environment Agency (ARSO) said Wednesday.
