* The Lao government will continue to work with its international partners to adopt sustainable development goals to eliminate poverty and hunger, and especially policies to promote food security and rural development.
* Britain's new Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Tuesday pledged to "fix the mistakes" made by the Truss government and restore the country's economic stability, while warning there will be "difficult decisions to come."
* IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva said on Wednesday she expects new Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to steer Britain towards fiscal sustainability and said he was right to warn the public of difficult decisions ahead.
* Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak on Tuesday ordered the government to "systematically" develop the Northern Sea Route (NSR) in the Arctic.
* Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal and International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva have discussed a new cooperation program between Kiev and the IMF, the Ukrainian government press service said on Tuesday.
* The Russian Foreign Ministry on Tuesday barred more persons of the European Union member states from entering Russia in response to their anti-Russian actions.
* Ukraine needs 4 billion euros (about 3.97 billion USD) to go through the winter cold season, the Interfax-Ukraine news agency reported on Tuesday, citing Minister for the Development of Communities and Territories of Ukraine Oleksiy Chernyshov.
* Germany is tightening entry restrictions on Iran beyond an already announced EU sanctions package in response to the human rights situation in the country, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said in a statement on Wednesday.
* Geir Pedersen, the UN's special envoy for Syria, said on Tuesday that only a political solution could bring peace to the country.
* Syria is open to discussing maritime border demarcation with Lebanon, the Syrian ambassador to Lebanon said on Tuesday.
* High inflation and interest rate hikes will affect many Swedish households and slow down the country's economic growth next year, a leading bank said in a report published on Tuesday.
* The American Petroleum Institute (API) on Tuesday reported an increase of 4.52 million barrels of crude oil in U.S. inventories for the week ending Oct. 21. Analysts expected a surge of 0.2 million barrels for this week.
* Australia's annual inflation has climbed to its highest level in more than 30 years amid soaring prices for housing and gas. The Australian Bureau of Statistics on Wednesday reported the consumer price index (CPI) rose by 1.8 percent in the three months to September 30 and by 7.3 percent over the last 12 months.
* A package of emergency energy measures proposed by the European Commission last week to mitigate the effects of the current energy crisis should be adopted by the end of November, senior officials said on Tuesday.
* Saudi Arabia's finance minister said on Wednesday the next six months, and possibly six years, would be "very good" for the Gulf Arab countries but "very difficult" for the wider Middle East.
* Romanian President Klaus Iohannis reiterated on Tuesday his country's intention to increase defense spending by 0.5 percentage point to 2.5 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2023.
* As of Wednesday, the exchange rate of Mongolia's national currency the Tugrik against the U.S. dollar has weakened by 18 percent year on year, data released by the Bank of Mongolia showed. The exchange rate of the USD against the Tugrik is at 3,382.39 on Wednesday.
* Alphabet Inc's Google should not restrict app developers from using third-party billing or payment processing services in India, the country's antitrust body said on Tuesday, as it fined the U.S. giant $113 million for anti-competitive practices.
* Russia's Soyuz-2.1a rocket has successfully sent into orbit the Progress MS-21 cargo spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, Russia's state space corporation Roscosmos announced Wednesday.
* A forest fire on Chile's Easter Island in early October damaged at least 177 moai statues -- ancient monoliths that have made the Polynesian island world renowned, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) said Tuesday.
* Costa Rica's coffee production will likely grow 11.5% in the 2022-2023 harvest, the country's coffee institute ICAFE said Tuesday, boosted by new plantations and a larger crop during the biannual cycle.
* Malta plans to spend 508 million euros (501.4 million USD) in 2023 to ease the impacts of the rising energy costs, Prime Minister Robert Abela said on Monday.
* The number of the surface-to-surface cruise missile launching systems on the destroyers of the Iranian navy will be doubled to eight, a top military commander said on Tuesday.
* The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi on Tuesday called on world leaders to spare no efforts in assisting countries in the Horn of Africa to break the cycle of conflicts and climate crises.
* The Nigerian government on Tuesday said 612 people have died and 3,219,780 people have been adversely impacted as a result of flooding in the country since the beginning of the rainy season this year.
* The number of dengue fever cases has continued to rise in Pakistan amid an outbreak due to floods triggered by heavy monsoon rains.
* South African police said Tuesday they have arrested 140 suspects and recovered more than 300 unlicensed firearms and 2,800 rounds of ammunition in the last two weeks in Gauteng Province.
* Six people are missing following a helicopter accident in Malaysia's Pahang state, the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia said on Wednesday.
