* Sweden's Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson announced her resignation on Wednesday after losing the election. Andersson, also leader of the ruling Social Democratic Party, conceded defeat at a press conference following the election on Sunday.
* China is ready to work with Russia in extending strong support to each other on issues concerning their respective core interests, Chinese President Xi Jinping said during a meeting with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, in Samarkand, on Thursday.
* Presidents, prime ministers and monarchs from around the world will travel to London over the weekend to pay their respects to Queen Elizabeth and attend a reception at Buckingham Palace to be hosted by King Charles the day before her funeral.
* A symposium has been held among China, the Republic of Korea (RoK) and Japan on cooperation for an age-friendly society at the Jeju Forum for Peace and Prosperity in the RoK resort island of Jeju.
* Spain's parliament ratified the entry of Finland and Sweden to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) on Thursday, bringing the two Nordic countries one step closer to joining the alliance in its most significant expansion since the 1990s.
* Mongolian President Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh said on Thursday that he supports the construction of oil and gas pipelines from Russia to China via Mongolia.
* The International Monetary Fund said on Thursday that a staff mission will visit Lebanon next week to discuss ways to "speed up" implementation of agreed reforms required for an IMF loan program amid deteriorating living conditions in the country.
* UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Wednesday that next week's General Debate of the General Assembly must be about hope.
* UN Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Martin Griffiths on Wednesday called for more funding for Syria to meet humanitarian and livelihood needs.
* China will take further measures to stabilize foreign trade and foreign investment, with a view to consolidating the foundation of economic recovery, according to the decision made at the State Council's Executive Meeting chaired by Premier Li Keqiang on Tuesday.
* US economic data remains strong but a range of financial indicators point to a sharp slowdown over the next year that would dampen oil consumption and lead to lower prices.
* Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen said on Thursday that renewable energy from hydropower, solar energy and biomass energy has accounted for 40 percent of the kingdom's total energy.
* The secretary general of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Haitham Al-Ghais, on Wednesday said the bloc and its allies remain "alert" to any possible changes in the global oil and gas market during his visit to Venezuela.
* Japan booked a record 2.82 trillion yen (19.66 billion USD) trade deficit in August owing to surging energy prices and a plunge in the yen inflating the price of imports, the government said in a report on Thursday.
* The RoK logged trade deficit for 5 months in August due to faster growth in import than export, customs office data showed Thursday. The revised figure for trade deficit came in at 9.49 billion USD in August, staying in red since April, according to Korea Customs Service.
* Pakistan's textile exports surged by over 4 percent in the first two months of the current fiscal year 2022-2023, compared to the same period of the last fiscal year, according to figures from the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) on Thursday.
* Türkiye's budget balance recorded a 3.6 billion Turkish liras (198 million USD) surplus in August after posting a deficit for two consecutive months, according to data released by the Turkish Treasury and Finance Ministry on Thursday.
* French President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday that the government will push ahead with plans to reform the pension system.
* Personal remittances from overseas Filipinos reached 3.24 billion USD in July, up 2.3 percent year-on-year, the Philippine central bank said on Thursday.
* The Chinese city of Chengdu will on Thursday lift a full COVID-19 lockdown in all districts still facing strict movement curbs as a recent outbreak comes under control, local authorities said.
* Over 14.6 million children in the United States have tested positive for COVID-19 since the onset of the pandemic, according to the latest report by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the Children's Hospital Association.
* Victims of thefts and assaults on France's public transport increased by 4 percent in 2021 over the previous year, the Ministerial Statistical Service for Internal Security (SSMSI) announced in a press release on Thursday.
* At least nine people were killed and about 20 were injured early Thursday morning after a stampede at the end of a concert celebrating Guatemalan Independence Day in the western city of Quetzaltenango, the local Red Cross confirmed.
