* The United Nations Security Council will meet on Friday over the pager blasts in Lebanon targeting militant group Hezbollah, said Slovenia's U.N. Ambassador Samuel Zbogar, president of the 15-member council for September. The meeting was requested by Algeria on behalf of Arab states.
* Sri Lanka's presidential candidates wrapped up their campaigning on Wednesday, 48 hours before the election, pledging to fix the island country's ailing economy that is struggling to recover from a debilitating financial crisis.
* Haiti's government on Wednesday created a provisional electoral council, an initial step needed to hold the Caribbean nation's first general elections since 2016.
* Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree extending an embargo on agricultural products from Western countries for another two years, local media reported on Wednesday. The embargo, which will run from Jan. 1, 2025 to Dec. 31, 2026, marks the first time the extension has exceeded one year.
* Cambodia and Malaysia on Thursday launched cross-border QR code payment connectivity.
* Mongolia's Immigration Agency announced on Thursday that it has begun issuing all categories of visas electronically.
* Canada is further reducing the number of study permits it will grant to foreign students and tightening eligibility for work permits in a bid to cut down on the number of temporary residents in the country, the government said on Wednesday.
* The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) test-fired a new-type tactical ballistic missile and an improved strategic cruise missile on Wednesday, as the country's top leader called for bolstering up the military capability for self-defence when he guided the event, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported Thursday.
* The Ukrainian parliament voted on Wednesday to allocate an additional 495.3 billion hryvnias (about 11.96 billion USD) for defense, the country's Finance Ministry said.
* The European Union (EU) accession process for the Western Balkan countries must be accelerated, Hungary's Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto said in Budapest on Wednesday.
* Armenia will not miss the chance to join the EU, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said Wednesday at the Global Armenian Summit.
* Pakistan and Russia signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in Islamabad on Wednesday to enhance bilateral economic and trade relations, said Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
* Russian President Vladimir Putin has accepted the Russian Foreign Ministry's proposal to sign a strategic partnership agreement with Iran, according to Putin's order published on the state website.
* Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said Wednesday she was optimistic about the state of the country's economy, which she expected would outperform its European peers.
* Colombia's government has called off peace talks with leftist rebel group the National Liberation Army (ELN), its peace delegation said on Wednesday, following an attack which killed two soldiers and injured more than two dozen.
* Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud said on Wednesday that Saudi Arabia won't establish diplomatic relations with Israel without the formation of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.
* U.S. President Joe Biden will welcome United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan to the White House on Monday for talks on issues ranging from the war in Gaza, Sudan and responsible artificial intelligence development.
* Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi and visiting U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken discussed on Wednesday mediation efforts for reaching a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, and the escalations in Lebanon, the Egyptian presidency said in a statement.
* UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was deeply alarmed by reports that a large number of communication devices exploded across Lebanon and in Syria on Tuesday and Wednesday, his spokesman said.
* The U.S. remains involved in intensive diplomatic efforts to prevent an escalation of the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon, White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said on Wednesday.
* The death toll in explosions of wireless communication devices across Lebanon on Wednesday rose to 14, with injuries up to 450, said the Lebanese Health Ministry.
* Israeli jets and artillery hit multiple targets in southern Lebanon overnight, Israel's military said on Thursday, amid spiralling tensions following the mass attack on Hezbollah communications devices this week.
* The Palestinian presidency condemned on Wednesday the "terrorist" attacks targeting Lebanon, which resulted in large casualties.
* Iran condemned attacks in Lebanon on Tuesday and Wednesday that involved exploding communications devices, government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani said in a post on the X social media platform on Wednesday, offering help to the wounded.
* The pager devices used in mass detonations in Lebanon were never in Hungary, Prime Minister Viktor Orban's government said in a statement on Wednesday.
* UN humanitarians said on Wednesday they are increasingly concerned over reports of escalating clashes in Sudan's North Darfur State capital of El Fasher and the nearby Zamzam displacement camp.
* Sudan's army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan said on Wednesday that the Sudanese government remains open to all constructive efforts aimed at ending war, in response to U.S. President Joe Biden's call on warring parties to re-engage in talks.
* U.S. President Joe Biden said on Wednesday that he will speak on Thursday about the economy after the Federal Reserve cut interest rates by half of a percentage point.
* Most Gulf central banks cut their key interest rates on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve decreased U.S. rates by half a percentage point, citing 'greater confidence' on inflation.
* Financial assets held by Japanese households totaled 2,212 trillion yen (about 15.4 trillion USD) at the end of June, hitting another record high on higher share prices, central bank data showed Thursday.
* Fiji and Japan signed an exchange of notes on Wednesday for a second stand-by disaster loan financing of around 72.0 million Fijian dollars (around 32.4 million USD), which will assist in any future needs for disaster recovery and rehabilitation.
* India's rice production this year will be higher than last year despite heavy rains and flooding in some states, Agricultural Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said on Thursday.
* Thailand's rice exports rose 21.97 percent in the first seven months of 2024 compared to a year earlier, driven by rising global demand as rice-importing countries seek to secure stocks amid food security concerns, official data showed on Wednesday.
* Indonesia's palm oil exports are expected to decline this year due to increased domestic consumption because of a higher biodiesel blending mandate and a slight decrease in production, an industry official told Reuters on Thursday.
* Britain's Consumer Prices Index (CPI) rose by 2.2 percent in the 12 months to August 2024, official data showed Wednesday. The country's CPI was unchanged from July, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). August's CPI reading was above the central bank's 2 percent target.
* Norway's central bank held its policy interest rate unchanged at a 16-year high of 4.50% on Thursday, as widely expected, and said it plans to start cutting borrowing costs in the first quarter of next year.
* The Asian Development Bank (ADB) Thursday said it has approved 109.5 million USD in financing to fund a road project around the Issyk-Kul Lake, one of the most popular tourist destinations in Kyrgyzstan.
* Over 176,000 people in 15 provinces across Laos have been hit by serious floods after days of continuous heavy rain caused by several storms. The tropical depression, Prapiroon storm and Typhoon Yagi have brought heavy rainfall to many parts of Laos since July 18, impacting 100 districts, 1,144 villages, and 45,661 households.
* A storm system that has wreaked havoc across central Europe brought devastating floods to the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna on Thursday, forcing people to leave their homes and the closure of schools.
* Hungary has entered the most challenging phase of dealing with the current wave of flooding, Prime Minister Viktor Orban announced on Wednesday.
* Climate change and conflict risk overshadowing efforts to improve people's health, when in reality the issues overlap, Peter Sands, head of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, said.
* Peruvian President Dina Boluarte on Wednesday declared a state of emergency in three regions affected by devastating forest fires that have burned through swathes of the nation's Andean and Amazonian crop lands and left 16 dead.
* Australia's population has officially surpassed 27 million people, with migration primarily driving growth. Official data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) on Thursday revealed that the Australian population was 27.12 million at the end of March 2024.
