* Indonesia's largest political party said it would support incoming president Prabowo Subianto, but it was unclear on Thursday whether it would formally join his already dominant coalition just days ahead of the inauguration ceremony.
* British foreign secretary David Lammy will visit China on Oct. 18-19, where he will hold in-depth talks on enhancing strategic mutual trust and strengthening dialogue and cooperation in various fields, the Chinese foreign ministry said on Thursday.
* The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) said on Thursday that the roads and railways connecting South Korea in the eastern and western parts of the DPRK southern border have been completely blocked, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported.
* Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's "victory plan" could push the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) toward a direct conflict with Russia, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said Wednesday.
* Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Thursday that he discussed long-range weapons, delivery of aid packages and implementation of a victory plan during a phone call with U.S. President Joe Biden.
* French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will be in Berlin for talks on Friday with U.S. President Joe Biden and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, a German government spokesperson said on Thursday.
* The leaders of the European Union (EU) and Gulf countries have expressed deep concern over the escalation of tensions in the Middle East, calling for an immediate ceasefire, according to a joint statement issued in Brussels on Tuesday.
* U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke to Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Wednesday and discussed Israel's operations in Lebanon and the humanitarian crisis in Gaza after a letter earlier this week to Israel from Washington that urged improvement of Gaza's humanitarian situation.
* Global Affairs Canada issued a statement Wednesday urgently calling for a ceasefire in the Middle East.
* Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi landed in Cairo late on Wednesday for talks with Egyptian officials, the first such visit in years as part of a Middle Eastern tour amid concerns of a wider confrontation in the region with Israel.
* The mayor of a major town in south Lebanon was among 16 people killed when an Israeli airstrike destroyed its municipal headquarters in the biggest attack on an official Lebanese state building since the Israeli air campaign began.
* Egypt has sent a plane carrying 22 tons of humanitarian aid to Lebanon to support the country amid ongoing "Israeli aggression," the Egyptian Foreign Ministry announced in a statement on Wednesday.
* In just one week, nearly 400 Palestinians have reportedly been killed and almost 1,500 injured in Gaza, said Joyce Msuya, the UN acting under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator, on Wednesday.
* More than 30,000 Cape Verdeans are currently facing a food crisis due to climate change and the Ukraine conflict, which have driven up food prices, a senior official said Wednesday.
* Nearly 3 million refugees and returnees have fled Sudan after 18 months of war, crossing borders to seek safety in neighboring countries and further afield, mainly fleeing to the Central African Republic, Chad, Egypt, Ethiopia, Libya, South Sudan and Uganda, according to the UN Refugee Agency.
* The European Central Bank is likely to lower interest rates for the third time this year on Thursday, arguing inflation in the euro zone is now increasingly under control and the economy is stagnating.
* China's ongoing trade-in program for home appliances has led to a surge in sales revenues which topped 69.09 billion yuan (9.7 billion USD) since August, the latest data from the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) showed Wednesday.
* Hungarian gross domestic product growth will be "very close to zero" in the third quarter, significantly below market expectations, Economy Minister Marton Nagy said on Thursday.
* Australia's unemployment rate remained steady at 4.1 percent in September as the economy added over 50,000 jobs.
* Russia's Gazprom GAZP.MM said it would send 42.4 million cubic metres of gas to Europe via Ukraine on Thursday, the same volume as on Wednesday.
* South Korea's automotive export rebounded in four months due to higher global demand for eco-friendly vehicles, government data showed Thursday.
* Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa said on Wednesday that he will announce "urgent steps" on Thursday to end power outages due to severe drought in the country.
* Western Pacific nations are unlikely to meet the United Nations target of reducing premature deaths from lifestyle-related diseases including cancer and diabetes, due to the slow decline in alcohol and tobacco consumption, the World Health Organisation said on Thursday.
* A highly pathogenic strain of avian influenza was detected in chickens at a poultry farm in Japan's Hokkaido after several chickens were found dead, marking the country's first confirmed outbreak for this season.
* Beaches in Sydney including the iconic Bondi were closed to bathers on Thursday after hundreds of black balls suspected to be toxic washed up on the city's shores.
