* Thailand's Prime Minister and Interior Minister Anutin Charnvirakul on Thursday condemned an armed attack in southern Narathiwat province, in which gunmen opened fire and threw pipe bombs at a checkpoint on Wednesday, leaving five paramilitary rangers killed.
* Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio discussed the Ukraine crisis, bilateral relations and regional issues on Thursday during the ongoing ASEAN meetings in Manila, capital of the Philippines, said the Russian foreign ministry.
* Explosions rocked the Ukrainian capital on Friday as the country's Air Force warned of missiles targeting the city. Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko said in a Telegram post that the air defense systems were operating in the capital.
* European Union (EU) ambassadors reached a political agreement on the bloc's 21st package of sanctions against Russia on Thursday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on social media.
* Three people were injured after Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) struck warehouses in Russia's Leningrad region early Friday, regional Governor Alexander Drozdenko said.
* The Republic of Korea's unification minister in charge of inter-Korean relations said Thursday that Seoul has actually dropped its denuclearization-first approach toward the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), Yonhap news agency reported Thursday.
* The United States will impose tariffs of 10 to 12.5 percent on imported goods from 60 economies starting on Friday, citing Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) said Thursday.
* Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Thursday that retaliatory measures are being considered if his government fails to reach a deal with U.S. President Donald Trump before new U.S. tariffs take effect, local media reported.
* Mexico said Thursday that the third round of talks on reviewing the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) had made progress, and that a new U.S. trade ruling would not change the effective tariffs paid by Mexican exports.
* The Japanese government stands ready to take "decisive action resolutely" when needed, Finance Minister Katayama Satsuki said Friday, as the yen continued to weaken and edged closer to the 164 line against the USD.
* New Zealand Trade Minister Todd McClay on Friday described as "very disappointing" a U.S. decision to impose new tariffs on New Zealand imports.
* Australia's Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles said on Friday that a new anti-forced labor tariff announced by the United States "makes no sense." Marles told Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) radio on Friday that the federal government was disappointed by the Trump administration's decision to impose the tariff.
* Malaysia will continue negotiations with the United States over the new tariffs imposed on Malaysia related to the forced labour issue if the outcome remains unsatisfactory, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said on Friday.
* Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum said Wednesday that she will meet with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer in Mexico City on Thursday, urging calm as Washington weighs new tariffs on Mexican exports.
* Brazil on Thursday rejected a U.S. decision to impose a 12.5-percent tariff on Brazilian products following a Section 301 trade investigation into 60 economies, saying it will pursue dispute settlement at the WTO.
* U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday attached a new condition to the U.S.-Saudi civilian nuclear agreement signed one day earlier, saying the deal will move forward only if Saudi Arabia normalizes relations with Israel through the Abraham Accords.
* U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday that any future damages to ships, cargo or related property will be paid using Iranian funds held under U.S. control.
* U.S. President Donald Trump said he is seriously considering restarting major combat operations in Iran, including strikes that would be bigger than the "Operation Epic Fury" launched on Feb. 28, Axios reported on Thursday.
* U.S. forces launched another round of strikes against Iranian military targets on Thursday evening, marking the 13th consecutive night of attacks, said the U.S. Central Command.
* Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi on Friday slammed the U.S. threat to use U.S.-controlled Iranian assets to cover future maritime damages as "an incendiary precedent."
* Iran's Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) said Thursday that it had stopped three oil tankers from passing through the Strait of Hormuz, one of which caught fire after an explosion.
* The Iranian Army announced on Friday that it had launched fresh drone strikes targeting "important" U.S. military facilities in Jordan and Bahrain.
* The Iranian Foreign Ministry on Thursday strongly condemned the British government's decision to permit the United States to use British military bases and facilities to prepare for and facilitate what Tehran called "illegal" military attacks against Iran.
* Renewed attacks on international shipping in the Red Sea region are "indefensible" and threaten seafarers' lives, maritime trade security and global supply chains, International Maritime Organization (IMO) Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez said Thursday.
* The latest escalation of violence in the Middle East disrupts maritime trade, flights, border crossings and regional supply chains for millions of people, while deepening humanitarian needs, UN humanitarians warned Thursday.
* New Zealand's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) has renewed its advice for New Zealanders in Iran to leave the country "if it is safe and possible to do so," following renewed U.S. threats of military action.
* U.S. President Donald Trump warned on Thursday that Yemen's Houthi group and Iran would face "major military punishment" if the Houthis continue attacking ships.
* Five drones were shot down near Erbil International Airport in northern Iraq's Kurdistan region on Friday morning, while a sixth crashed in a nearby agricultural area, a local security source said.
* Four Palestinians and one Israeli were killed on Friday in an incident in the town of Tal, south of the northern West Bank city of Nablus, authorities have said.
* Pakistan and seven other Muslim-majority countries on Friday strongly condemned Israeli settlers' incursion into the Al Aqsa Mosque compound, calling the move a provocative violation of international law and the historical status quo at the holy site.
* UN Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg on Thursday expressed alarm over renewed Houthi attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea, warning that the escalation could undermine peace efforts and push Yemen back toward broader conflict.
* Operations at the Shalamcheh border crossing between Iraq and Iran resumed Thursday after a three-hour suspension requested by Iran following a bombardment on the Iranian side of the crossing, the Iraqi Border Ports Commission said.
* Iran and Iraq on Thursday signed an agreement and three memorandums of understanding (MoUs) to enhance bilateral relations and strengthen regional security, Iran's official news agency IRNA reported.
* Thousands of Jewish worshippers entered the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in the Old City of occupied East Jerusalem on Thursday, with some holding prayers at the site under Israeli police protection, according to Israeli media reports. The visits took place during Tisha B'Av, an annual Jewish fast day.
* The Indian government on Thursday said the ongoing U.S.-Iran conflict has severely disrupted the country's international aviation sector, affecting around 26,000 flights until July 20.
* Indonesia has exempted four countries -- China, the United States, Australia, and Canada -- from new rules requiring natural resource exporters to retain foreign exchange earnings in domestic accounts, a senior official said Thursday.
* The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Bank of Thailand have signed a memorandum of understanding to strengthen cybersecurity cooperation and combat digital fraud, as cyber threats become increasingly sophisticated across the region's interconnected financial systems.
* Nepal's telecommunications regulator has blocked more than 200,000 websites and mobile applications involved in online betting and illegal financial transactions during the FIFA World Cup, the Prime Minister's Secretariat said on Friday.
* The 21st round of ocean discharge of nuclear-contaminated wastewater from Japan's crippled Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant was completed, the plant's operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, said on Friday.
* Türkiye's central bank kept its key policy rate unchanged at 37 percent on Thursday, marking the fourth consecutive month of holding rates steady amid renewed tensions between the United States and Iran in the Middle East.
* International benchmark Brent crude rose to the highest level in two months, reaching 100 USD per barrel on Thursday morning after two Saudi oil tankers were hit in the Red Sea. Brent crude for September delivery climbed to 100.28 dollars per barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange, up 6.21 dollars, or 6.6 percent, from the previous settlement.
* Thailand's economy is projected to expand 2.5 percent in 2026, up from 1.6 percent seen earlier, due to a rebound in private investment and consumption underpinned by government stimulus, the Ministry of Finance said on Friday.
* Nepal posted a 15.88 percent rise in foreign trade in the recently concluded fiscal year 2025-26, a government report said on Thursday.
* Cambodia's imports of mineral fuels, oils, and distillation products rose 36 percent year-on-year to 2.55 billion USD during the January-June period of 2026, said an official report on Thursday.
* Sri Lanka aims to secure overseas employment opportunities for 250,000 citizens in 2026, the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE) said on Thursday.
* The Peruvian government on Thursday declared a state of emergency in two districts of the central Junin department after a recent 5.1-magnitude earthquake killed six people.
