* Singapore has been ranked the safest country in the world for the 12th time since 2006, according to the Global Safety Report released Thursday by Gallup.
* Bulgaria's nine-month-old coalition government, led by Prime Minister Rossen Jeliazkov, on Thursday survived its fifth no-confidence motion in the National Assembly.
* The Southern African Development Community (SADC) Electoral Observation Mission (SEOM) has called on the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) to consider allowing Malawians in the diaspora to participate in the country's Sept. 16 general elections.
* UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday unveiled a progress report on structural reforms and program realignments under the third workstream of the UN80 Initiative.
* The World Health Organization (WHO) on Thursday released a new report urging cost-effective solutions to combat noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) and improve mental health, warning that global progress has slowed significantly.
* The United States on Thursday vetoed a UN Security Council draft resolution that would have demanded Israel immediately lift all restrictions on humanitarian access and delivery in Gaza.
* Two nuclear-powered submarines of Russia's Pacific Fleet have successfully launched cruise missiles during naval exercises in the Sea of Okhotsk, the fleet said Friday.
* Ukraine has repatriated the bodies of 1,000 Ukrainian soldiers killed in the conflict with Russia, a government agency reported on Thursday. The repatriation was carried out by various Ukrainian government agencies, with assistance from the International Committee of the Red Cross, according to Ukraine's Coordinating Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War reported on Thursday.
* The top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on Thursday guided a performance test of unmanned weapons and equipment being developed and produced by an institute and enterprises under the unmanned aeronautical technology complex, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported Friday.
* China expects the European Commission to work with China to resolve mutual concerns through dialogue and consultation, thereby creating an open and stable market environment for industries from both sides, the Ministry of Commerce said Thursday.
* The U.S. State Department has approved a sale of Javelin missile systems worth about 780 million USD to Poland, days after an alleged Russian drone incursion into Poland's airspace alerting NATO members, the U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) said in a statement issued on Thursday.
* The Slovenian parliament has approved a pension reform late on Thursday, that will gradually raise the statutory retirement age from 65 to 67 by 2035, in a move aimed at ensuring the sustainability of the country's pension system.
* U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday that he disagrees with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer over Britain's plan to recognize a Palestinian state. Starmer announced in July that Britain would recognize Palestinian statehood in September unless the Israeli government takes substantive steps to end the conflict in Gaza.
* The U.S. Senate on Thursday confirmed 48 of President Donald Trump's nominees in a single vote after Republicans changed the rules to allow batch approvals. The Republican-controlled Senate approved a slew of Trump picks by a 51-47 party-line vote, including several ambassadorial appointments.
* The last remaining civilian lifelines are collapsing in Gaza City as Israel's military onslaught triggers more casualties, mass displacement, destruction, and tighter restrictions on humanitarian work, UN humanitarians said on Thursday.
* Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ankara on Thursday to discuss Israel's escalating offensive in Gaza and broader regional developments, the Turkish presidency said in a statement.
* The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Joint Defense Council held an extraordinary session in Doha on Thursday, strongly condemning Israel's military attack on Qatar and deciding to step up intelligence sharing and update joint defense plans.
* Türkiye's gendarmerie detained 51 individuals suspected of links to the Islamic State (IS) in a sweeping counterterrorism operation over the past two weeks, the country's Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said Thursday.
* Yemen's Houthi group said it launched a long-range "hypersonic ballistic missile" and three drones on three cities in Israel on Thursday night.
* One person was injured and several houses were destroyed Thursday in Israeli airstrikes on civilian homes and Hezbollah sites in southern Lebanon, according to Lebanese sources.
* Iraq and Lebanon signed on Thursday seven Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) and a judicial cooperation agreement to deepen economic and legal relations.
* A total of 694 Afghan prisoners were released from Pakistani jails over the past week and have safely returned to Afghanistan, Afghanistan's Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation announced Thursday.
* South Africa's Department of Home Affairs on Thursday announced the launch of a new digital visa system designed to streamline applications and strengthen national security.
* Trade talks between South Africa and the United States are at an advanced stage, Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni said Thursday, as the country seeks relief from the 30 percent tariffs Washington imposed on its products in early August.
* The Bank of England (BoE) has kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 4 percent as Britain's latest inflation level almost double the bank's target, according to a statement released by Britain's central bank on Thursday.
* Cambodia exported garments, textiles, shoes, and travel goods totally worth 10.97 billion USD in the first eight months of 2025, up 19 percent from 9.21 billion dollars over the same period last year, said an official report on Friday.
* Myanmar exported over 154,000 tons of fishery products in the first five months from April to August of the current fiscal year 2025-2026, earning over 220 million U.S. dollars, according to the Department of Fisheries on Friday.
* Foreign investment in Turkmenistan reached 1.4 billion USD in 2024, equivalent to 11.6 percent of the total investment, Minister of Finance and Economy Mammetguly Astangulov said Thursday.
* Pakistan's food group exports dropped 35.2 percent year on year in August 2025, official data showed Wednesday. The Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) reported that food exports stood at 347.6 million USD in August, down from 536.2 million dollars in the same month last year.
* Malaysia recorded 73.8 million domestic visitors in the second quarter of 2025, an increase of 7.8 percent as compared to the same period last year, official data showed Thursday.
* China's State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters on Thursday activated a Level-IV emergency response for south China's Guangdong Province as Typhoon Mitag approached.
* A 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck the eastern coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia, at 2:58 a.m. Friday (Beijing Time), according to the China Earthquake Networks Center (CENC). The epicenter was monitored at 53.10 degrees north latitude and 160.60 degrees east longitude. The quake struck at a depth of 20 km, said a report issued by the CENC.
* Mainland Portugal experienced one of the hottest and driest Augusts in decades, driven by an intense heatwave during the first half of the month, the Portuguese Institute for Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA) reported Thursday.
