* The Lao Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism is expediting its preparations to welcome a higher influx of foreign visitors during Laos' chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) next year and as part of Visit Laos Year 2024.
* Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu checked on the repair and modernisation of the Pacific Fleet's nuclear submarines at a top military shipyard on Friday, his ministry said.
* The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said Thursday that it is expecting the European Union (EU) to lift all restrictions on the imports of Ukrainian grain and other agricultural products after Friday.
* The main Afghanistan-Pakistan land border crossing reopened on Friday after being closed for nine days following firing between guards on both sides, a senior Pakistani official told Reuters.
* Poland's ruling nationalists are in the lead ahead of Oct. 15 parliamentary elections, according to a poll published on Friday.
* Abdoulaye Bathily, special representative of the UN Secretary-General for Libya, on Thursday said the Libyan people "have set a great example of unity, compassion and resilience" in the face of the devastating flood disaster triggered by Hurricane Daniel.
* Iran's Foreign Ministry summoned the Australian charge d'affaires in Tehran on Wednesday to protest against "meddlesome" remarks by Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong, the official news agency IRNA reported on Thursday.
* A ceasefire agreement was reached on Thursday in Ain Al-Helweh Palestinian camp located near the southern Lebanese city of Sidon after clashes claimed about 20 lives there during the past week, local media reported.
* Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa laid out on Thursday the agenda for his second term in office following re-election last month.
* Israeli military announced Thursday it will impose a three-day total closure on Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip during the upcoming Jewish New Year holiday, starting on Friday.
* The Israeli and Greek air forces completed on Wednesday a joint exercise, simulating long-range attack flights, the Israeli military said in a statement on Thursday.
* An Omani delegation arrived in Yemen's rebel-held capital Sanaa on Thursday to persuade the Houthi group to resume a truce with the Yemeni government, the Houthi-run al-Masirah TV reported.
* Israeli authorities announced on Thursday that they had seized a shipment of 16 tons of rocket production materials destined for the Gaza Strip.
* Norway must continue to deliver natural gas to Europe for as long as needed while also working to decarbonise the continent's energy systems, the Norwegian climate and environment minister said on Friday.
* The European Central Bank (ECB) on Thursday lifted key interest rates by another 0.25 percentage points, putting the rates to all-time high.
* The South Korean government on Friday saw eased economic downturn for the second straight month due to alleviated export slump and improved consumer sentiment.
* Finland's economy is expected to contract by 0.3 percent this year and to grow by 0.8 percent in 2024, the private, non-profit institute ETLA Economic Research said in a survey published on Thursday.
* Croatia's government adopted on Thursday a set of new measures to help the citizens cope with inflation that has been persistently high since the end of last year.
* The production of crude oil and condensate and natural gas in Malaysia declined in the second quarter of 2023, contracted by 3.3 percent and 3.7 percent respectively, official data showed on Friday.
* Myanmar earned over 6.48 billion USD from its exports in the first five months of the 2023-24 fiscal year, according to the Ministry of Commerce on Thursday.
* Finland's economic downturn will last longer than expected, driven by weaker export demand and a rapid slowdown in construction activity in the face of high interest rates, the Bank of Finland said on Friday.
