* Britain and the United States agreed on a multi-billion-dollar tech deal during U.S. President Donald Trump's state visit to boost fast-growing fields such as AI, quantum computing and nuclear, the British government said Tuesday.
* Portugal and Brazilian aerospace company Embraer signed a contract expansion on Wednesday for the acquisition of a sixth KC-390 Millennium military transport aircraft, with the Portuguese Air Force becoming the first existing operator to order additional units of the aircraft.
* Bulgarian President Rumen Radev said at a Czech-Bulgarian presentation of defense and security technologies on Wednesday that Europe should overcome its deep fragmentation in defense sector amid a deteriorating security environment.
* Russia is ready to deepen economic and energy cooperation with the United States, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said Wednesday. Ryabkov said the two countries maintain contact through various channels, and that economic issues are among the agenda.
* Microsoft on Tuesday announced a 30 billion USD investment in artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure and operations in Britain over the four years from 2025 to 2028.
* Finland and Sweden have urged the European Union (EU) to ease climate rules on forestry, warning that rigid land-use targets risk hurting their economies and disrupting timber supplies across Europe.
* Russia's Caspian Flotilla concluded a series of command and staff exercises aimed at protecting the country's maritime economic activities and shipping routes, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Thursday.
* Three officers were killed and two others were injured in a shooting in York County, the northeastern U.S. state of Pennsylvania, on Wednesday afternoon, U.S. media reported. The incident occurred just after 2 p.m. local time in North Codorus Township in York County, CBS reported.
* The 80th session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) will focus on such issues as advancing the UN80 reform agenda, guiding the selection of the next UN secretary-general, and regaining momentum on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), said UNGA President Annalena Baerbock on Wednesday.
* The escalating Israeli bombardments and ground operations in Gaza City are taking a growing toll on Palestinians, UN humanitarians said Wednesday.
* Egypt on Wednesday honored the Egyptian Red Crescent (ERC) and its volunteers for sustaining aid to Gaza, reaffirming its humanitarian and political support for the Palestinian people.
* Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi and Spanish King Felipe VI on Wednesday called for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, the release of hostages, and unhindered delivery of humanitarian aid, the Egyptian presidency said.
* The number of Palestinians killed by the Israeli army in the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7, 2023, has surpassed 65,000, Gaza-based health authorities reported Wednesday.
* Iranian Foreign Minister Seyyed Abbas Araghchi stressed on Tuesday that Iran has always considered diplomacy as the sole solution to its nuclear issue.
* The World Trade Organization (WTO) said Wednesday that the use of artificial intelligence (AI) could boost global trade by nearly 40 percent by 2040, while emphasizing the need to bridge digital divides.
* From January to August 2025, China recorded 15.89 million visa-free entries by foreign nationals, up 52.1 percent year on year, the National Immigration Administration said Thursday.
* The Australian government on Thursday committed to cutting the country's greenhouse gas emissions by 62 to 70 percent from 2005 levels by 2035 under its new climate target.
* Uzbekistan aims to eliminate absolute poverty by 2030, announced Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev on Wednesday.
* Bank Indonesia (BI) has purchased government securities worth 217.1 trillion rupiahs (about 13.2 billion USD) from January to Tuesday to support fiscal funding and economic growth, Governor Perry Warjiyo said Wednesday.
* The Asian Development Bank (ADB) announced on Thursday that it has approved a 52.72-million-USD loan for the Grid Expansion Project in Cambodia.
* Kazakhstan has resumed oil exports via the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline system, the press service of the country's national oil and gas company KazMunayGas (KMG) said Wednesday.
* The U.S. Federal Reserve on Wednesday decided to lower the target range for the federal funds interest rate by 25 basis points to 4 to 4.25 percent, the first rate cut since December 2024.
* Bank of Canada on Wednesday reduced its policy rate by 25 basis points to 2.5 percent.
* The Council of Arab Central Bank Governors and Monetary Authorities opened its annual meeting in Tunisia on Wednesday, with discussions focusing on monetary policy challenges in North Africa and the wider Arab region.
* Australia's unemployment rate remained steady at 4.2 percent in August despite a fall in full-time employment. Official labor force figures published on Thursday by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) said that the unemployment rate was 4.2 percent in August, matching the figure for July.
* Pakistan's textile exports fell 7.3 percent year-on-year to 1.52 billion USD in August, official data showed Wednesday. Figures pointed to a broad-based decline across key categories as the country's largest export sector continued to grapple with soft global demand, high input costs and energy shortages.
*Azerbaijan received 3.2 billion USD in foreign direct investment in the first half of this year, AZERTAC news agency reported, citing the Central Bank of Azerbaijan on Wednesday.
* The gross domestic product (GDP) growth in the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA) zone slowed slightly in the second quarter of 2025, easing from 7 percent to 6.5 percent, Governor of the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO) Jean-Claude Kassi Brou said Wednesday.
* The Philippines has suspended poultry imports from Argentina following an outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza in the South American country, the Department of Agriculture said Wednesday.
* Russia is expected to launch the first module of its new orbital space station in 2028, Dmitry Bakanov, the head of Russia's state space corporation Roscosmos, said Wednesday.
* The four U.S. western states of California, Oregon, Washington and Hawaii issued coordinated recommendations on COVID-19, influenza and RSV vaccines on Wednesday, saying regional action is needed as federal vaccine policy undergoes rapid change.
* A boat carrying 74 people, mostly Sudanese, capsized off Libya on Sept. 13, leaving only 13 survivors, the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) said on Wednesday, with dozens feared missing.
* Pakistan's health minister Syed Mustafa Kamal has said that the country was committed to achieving a polio-free nation and protecting children's health through coordinated and sustained efforts.
* Bangladesh has logged 39 dengue-related deaths so far this month, out of nearly 40,000 confirmed cases as of Wednesday since January.
* Flash floods and landslides triggered by heavy rains and cloudbursts have unleashed a fresh wave of devastation in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand, killing 17 and leaving over a dozen others missing, multiple local media reports said Wednesday.
