* Nine Thai civilians were killed and 14 others injured in military attacks near the Thailand-Cambodia border on Thursday, the Thai Army said in a statement.
* Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet on Thursday called on the people to stay calm and trust the government and armed forces amid a border clash with Thailand.
* Thailand's acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai on Thursday told Thai media that he has been informed of the incident that happened at the border areas with Cambodia and needs to handle the current situation with caution while complying with relevant international laws.
* Cambodia has decided to downgrade diplomatic ties with Thailand to the lowest level and recalled all of its diplomatic staff from Bangkok, Cambodian foreign ministry's spokesperson Chum Sounry said early Thursday.
* Thailand downgraded its diplomatic relations with Cambodia on Wednesday after a landmine near the border injured Thai soldiers. However, Cambodia rejected Thai accusations.
* Thailand is closing all border crossings with Cambodia, a spokesperson of Thailand's Ad Hoc Center for Thailand-Cambodia Border Situation told a press briefing on Thursday.
* Rwandan President Paul Kagame appointed Justin Nsengiyumva as the new prime minister on Wednesday, paving the way for the formation of a new cabinet.
* Tanzania's Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Wednesday instructed election officials to begin consultations with political party leaders to ensure that candidate nominations are conducted by the law ahead of the October general elections.
* Russia and Ukraine on Wednesday exchanged prisoners of conflict as delegations of the two countries held their third round of direct talks in the city of Istanbul, Türkiye. The swap was conducted in accordance with the agreements both sides reached during their last talks on June 2 in Istanbul, the Russian defense ministry said in a statement.
* Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday reiterated Pakistan's readiness for meaningful dialogue with India on all outstanding issues, the Prime Minister's Office said. Sharif made it clear during a meeting with British High Commissioner to Pakistan Jane Marriott in Islamabad.
* The Indian government has extended the NOTAM (Notice to Airmen) for Pakistani flights until August 23, officials said Wednesday. The information was shared by Murlidhar Mohol, India's federal junior minister for civil aviation, through a social media post.
* Chinese Premier Li Qiang, President of the European Council Antonio Costa, and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen jointly chaired the 25th China-EU Summit in Beijing on Thursday.
* Kim Jong Un, top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), oversaw on Wednesday a firing contest involving artillery sub-units of large combined units of the Korean People's Army, the official Korean Central News Agency reported Thursday.
* Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng will be in Sweden from July 27 to 30 for economic and trade talks with the United States upon mutual agreement, the commerce ministry announced Wednesday.
* The European Union (EU) is intensifying negotiations with the United States in pursuit of a resolution to an ongoing trade dispute, while simultaneously preparing a set of potential countermeasures in the event that talks fail, a spokesperson told Xinhua in an emailed statement on Wednesday.
* Trade talks of the Republic of Korea and the United States scheduled for this week were delayed due to an urgent schedule of U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Seoul's finance ministry said Thursday.
* Nearly 75,000 Mexicans have been repatriated from the United States so far this year, as a result of U.S. President Donald Trump's hardline immigration policies, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Wednesday.
* Laos' Ministry of Finance is actively working towards building an independent and self-reliant economy, with a strong focus on optimizing revenue, controlling expenditure, and improving financial management.
* Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim announced on Wednesday several measures to provide relief for Malaysians grappling with the high cost of living in the country.
* The Indonesian government will introduce new economic stimulus packages in the third quarter to strengthen people's purchasing power, a senior official said on Wednesday.
* The Malaysian government will begin enforcement of its minimum wage policy starting Aug. 1, the Human Resources Ministry said. The government had raised the minimum wage from 1,500 ringgit (354.8 USD) per month to 1,700 ringgit starting Feb. 1, with an adjustment period, the ministry said in a statement.
* The 20th Asia Media Summit wrapped up in Siem Reap in northwest Cambodia on Wednesday, adopting the Angkor declaration against fake news 2.0. Cambodian Minister of Information Neth Pheaktra said the declaration was not just a renewal, but a reinvention.
* The Indian government has confirmed that its citizens lost over 2.64 billion USD in cyber fraud cases in 2024. The information was presented by federal junior home minister Bandi Sanjay Kumar on Wednesday in the lower house of the Indian parliament, locally called Lok Sabha.
* The European Union (EU) on Wednesday announced a 12.5-million-euro (about 14.6 million USD) initiative aimed at supporting the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF), according to a statement by the Delegation of the European Union to Lebanon.
* A helicopter of the Iranian navy on Wednesday warned a U.S. destroyer against approaching Iran's territorial waters in the Gulf of Oman, forcing it to change its course, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported.
* Israel's UN Ambassador Danny Danon on Wednesday announced restrictive measures targeting the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), including the denial of a visa renewal for a senior OCHA official and a one-month limit on visas for the agency's international staff.
* A humanitarian aid convoy operated by the Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC) entered the southern city of Sweida, the namesake provincial capital, on Wednesday, delivering essential supplies to civilians affected by recent violence, according to state news agency SANA.
* Sporadic clashes, drone strikes, and ground fighting continued in southern Syria's Sweida province and surrounding areas despite a declared truce, with the number of displaced reaching over 145,000, the United Nations said Wednesday.
* The Iraqi government on Wednesday strongly condemned the ongoing "brutal siege" imposed by Israeli forces on the people of Gaza, calling for immediate international action to address the humanitarian crisis.
* Bahrain's King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa announced on Wednesday the opening of a permanent Bahraini diplomatic mission in Beirut, marking a renewal of the kingdom's full diplomatic relations with Lebanon.
* At least 178 rebels in the Central African Republic (CAR) have laid down their weapons and surrendered since July 13, an official of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) said on Wednesday.
* An Israeli cruise ship with 1,600 Israeli nationals on board docked at the Cypriot port of Limassol on Wednesday after it left the Greek island of Syros as a result of a mass protest at the island's port, according to Limassol port authorities.
* After days of continuous heavy rain, many provinces across Laos are experiencing flooding and rising river levels, resulting in extensive damage to homes, agricultural land, and transportation infrastructure.
* Indonesian authorities were accelerating efforts to tackle forest and land fires, particularly in Riau province and other regions across Sumatra Island in the country's western territories.
* Heavy rain threatened to trigger more severe floods and landslides in the Philippines on Thursday as the country experiences a series of three tropical storms in days, worsening a disaster that has already left up to 12 people dead and over 2.7 million people displaced.
* Iranian authorities on Wednesday closed government offices in 22 provinces, including Tehran, and reduced working hours in four others to manage water and electricity shortages during a record heatwave.
* Authorities of Afghanistan's eastern Paktika province have inaugurated a check dam to help overcome drought in the area, provincial director for energy and water Qari Fateh Mohammad Zakir said Thursday.
* Cypriot authorities on Wednesday evacuated several mountain communities as a large wildfire raged out of control in the central Troodos mountain range, causing damage to homes, vehicles, and livestock, according to official sources.
* Multiple wildfires have broken out across northern Finland's Lapland region in recent days, local newspaper Koti-Lappi reported Wednesday. The Lapland Rescue Department said it responded to dozens of incidents over the past 24 hours, including smoke sightings, building fires, and wildfires.
* Türkiye's Agriculture and Forestry Minister Ibrahim Yumakli on Wednesday warned of the increasing threat of wildfires as temperatures soar across the country, stressing that the risk is set to intensify in the coming days due to heat and strong winds.
* A 6.3-magnitude earthquake struck off Indonesia's Gorontalo province early Thursday, according to the country's Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency. The quake occurred at 03:50 a.m. local time (2050 GMT Wednesday), with its epicenter located 8 kilometers on land southeast of Pohuwato Regency at a depth of 132 kilometers.
