* Cuba has eased restrictions on non-state economic actors under a new legal framework governing private enterprises, non-agricultural cooperatives and self-employed workers, the local media reported Wednesday.
* The Japanese government on Thursday cut its economic growth outlook to 0.9 percent for the current fiscal year, down from an earlier estimate of 1.3 percent, as higher crude oil prices posed risks to resource-poor Japan.
* U.S. forces on Wednesday night conducted fresh strikes against Iran in retaliation for Tehran's latest attacks as the conflict widened across the region.
* U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday reiterated that U.S. forces will hit Iran "hard" in retaliation for Iran's latest attacks.
* Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty discussed regional developments and efforts to de-escalate tensions during separate phone calls on Wednesday with U.S. president's special envoy Steve Witkoff and Pakistan's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar.
* United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday announced plans to convene another enlarged meeting on the Cyprus issue following a tripartite meeting with Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides and Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman.
* Italy and Saudi Arabia on Wednesday reaffirmed their support for implementing the two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, calling for the Gaza ceasefire to be preserved, humanitarian assistance to be increased and efforts toward lasting peace to be renewed.
* Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune and his Egyptian counterpart, Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi, stressed the need to pursue peaceful solutions to conflicts and tensions in the region during a phone conversation on Wednesday, the Algerian presidency said in a statement.
* UN humanitarians and partners are stepping up efforts to help Gazans reduce major public health risks, including rodent infestation, said the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) on Wednesday.
* Iraq's Ministerial Council for National Security on Wednesday condemned U.S.-Saudi airstrikes targeting paramilitary positions across the country, approving a comprehensive security plan to tighten state control and confront any violation of Iraq's sovereignty.
* A total of 512 migrants returned from Libya to their home countries this week on three Voluntary Humanitarian Return (VHR) flights, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) announced on Wednesday.
* The Security Council on Wednesday adopted a resolution to extend for a year, until July 31, 2027, the sanctions against armed groups operating in the Central African Republic (CAR) as well as other individuals that undermine peace in the country.
* At least nine police personnel and 15 militants were killed after militants attacked a police check post in Pakistan's northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, police said on Thursday.
* The European Commission has disbursed 1.5 billion euros (1.72 billion USD) to Egypt under the European Union (EU)'s Macro-Financial Assistance (MFA) program, the Delegation of the EU to Egypt announced on Wednesday.
* Indonesia has recorded an investment of 2.3 billion USD in a coal-to-methanol downstream project expected to produce 2 million tonnes of methanol annually, the Ministry of Investment and Downstream Industry said Wednesday.
* Portuguese goods exports rose 10 percent year-on-year in the second quarter of 2026, reversing four consecutive quarters of decline, the National Statistics Institute (INE) said Wednesday.
* Two senior UN officials on Wednesday called on the international community to significantly scale up the Ebola response in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) as the spread of the epidemic is outpacing the response.
* The death toll from a powerful earthquake that struck Japan's Kumamoto Prefecture has risen to 34, the prefectural government said Thursday.
* The death toll in the ongoing floods in India's northeastern state of Assam has risen to 75, with another eight people still missing, officials said Wednesday.
* The Department of Meteorology and Hydrology under the Lao Ministry of Agriculture and Environment on Wednesday issued a warning of flash floods and landslides as light to moderate thunderstorms are expected to continue across the country, with heavy rainfall forecast in some areas.
* China's Ministry of Water Resources on Wednesday activated a Level-IV flood emergency response in southwest China's Sichuan Province.
* The Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management said on Wednesday that drought conditions in the Netherlands are worsening as river discharges and groundwater levels continue to decline.
* The third unit of Hungary's Paks Nuclear Power Plant has been temporarily shut down as the Danube River dropped to record low amid prolonged drought and extreme heat, an official announced on Wednesday.
* Serbia is bracing for its second major heatwave of the year, with temperatures forecast to reach 40 degrees Celsius next week, as a prolonged drought reduces hydropower output, disrupts river transport and prompts emergency government measures.
* Croatia's Meteorological and Hydrological Service (DHMZ) issued red heat warnings on Wednesday, alerting the public to an intense heatwave expected to hit the country in the coming days, with temperatures forecast to reach 40 degrees Celsius from this weekend.
* The southeast Australian state of Victoria on Thursday reported its first case of H5N1 avian influenza, meaning the deadly strain has now been detected in all five mainland states.
