* Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said Friday that he would resign on Sept. 25 or 26 and then campaign as an ordinary citizen for prime minister in the snap parliamentary elections due on Oct. 25.
* The Russian Ministry of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media announced Friday that Russia has put its first 5G mobile networks into commercial operation.
* The French government has cut its 2026 economic growth forecast to 0.5 percent from 0.7 percent previously, the country's Economy and Finance Minister Roland Lescure said Friday.
* South Asian countries have pledged to intensify regional efforts against illegal wildlife trade by strengthening intelligence sharing, coordinated enforcement, financial investigations and criminal justice cooperation.
* The UN Security Council on Friday expressed deep concern over the intensification, increasing complexity and evolving nature of terrorist attacks.
* Russian forces carried out one massive attack and six group strikes on Ukrainian defense industry enterprises and logistics centers used by the Ukrainian military over the past week, the defense ministry said Friday.
* Ecuador will impose a temporary curfew in four coastal provinces affected by organized crime, Interior Minister John Reimberg said Friday. The curfew will be in effect from Sept. 17 to 30 in Guayas, Manabi, LosRios and El Oro, running from midnight to 5 a.m. local time.
* Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian has said his country and Oman will sign an agreement on the designation of a joint shipping route in the Strait of Hormuz in Muscat on Monday, while Bahrain said on Saturday that it will not attend the meeting.
* Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Friday that the Iranian people will not surrender to U.S. economic pressure.
* Iraqi security authorities said Saturday that they have initiated administrative and security reorganization operations at several border crossings, which necessitate their closure, to investigate security breaches.
* Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said Saturday that there would be no new negotiations with Israel at present, reaffirming the withdrawal of Israeli forces, the return of detainees and displaced people, and reconstruction as national constants that the state is committed to pursuing.
* Saudi Arabia announced Friday the shutting down of the East-West Pipeline as a precautionary measure after it was subjected to multiple attacks a day earlier.
* Ali al-Zaidi, Iraqi prime minister and commander-in-chief of the armed forces, approved Iran's request to conduct a joint investigation into finding drone launch platforms near the Iraq-Iran border, Sabah al-Numan, spokesman for the commander-in-chief of the Iraqi forces, said Saturday.
* Yemen's government forces said Friday evening they had begun shelling Houthi positions inside a designated combat zone along the country's western coast, seeking to counter the group's territorial gains extending to the Bab al-Mandab Strait.
* The Bank of Russia on Friday said it would keep its key interest rate unchanged at 14 percent, according to a statement. The statement said Russia's economy is growing at a moderate pace in the third quarter of 2026.
* India's foreign exchange (forex) reserves increased by 44.903 billion USD to 785.706 billion dollars during the week ended Sept. 4, showed the weekly bulletin released by the country's central bank, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday.
* Thailand's Senate passed the 3.79 trillion baht (about 114.8 billion USD) expenditure bill for fiscal year 2027 on Friday, concluding parliamentary clearance of the government's annual spending plan.
* Cambodia's export of garment, textile, footwear, and travel products reached 11.76 billion USD in the first eight months of 2026, marking a 7.2 percent increase from 10.97 billion dollars during the same period last year, said an official report on Saturday.
* Earth had the hottest August on record, according to newly released weather data, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said Friday, noting that the effects were felt around the planet. The Northern Hemisphere had its warmest summer, while the Southern Hemisphere had a near-record warm winter. Meanwhile, the Arctic and Antarctic each had below-average sea ice coverage in August.
* The death toll from the vessel fire on Wednesday off the waters of the tourist hotspot Palawan Province of the Philippines rose to 76, with 13 still missing, said the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) on Saturday. The number of survivors remains at 43.
* A deadly multi-vehicle traffic accident in Russia's Arkhangelsk region has killed 13 people, including three children, according to updated official figures released Saturday.
* At least 16 people were killed after a fire broke out on Friday evening at a nursing home in southern Chile, local media reported on Saturday.
* Belgian media said Friday, citing the Flemish Department of Care, that five probable locally acquired cases of West Nile virus (WNV) infection had been detected in Belgium's northern region of Flanders.
* 44 people were injured, including one in critical condition, after a regional passenger train partially derailed in the Seine-Maritime department in northwestern France on Friday evening, French daily Le Figaro reported.
