* Europe and other developed countries must take "positive action" to implement climate change goals as geopolitical uncertainties threaten to undermine their efforts, China's top climate envoy told his German counterpart.
* Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio met President Ferdinand Marcos Jr of the Philippines on Wednesday and said he wanted to strengthen cooperation in priority areas for the Filipino leader, such as agriculture, energy, health and infrastructure, a Japanese spokesperson said.
* The Republic of Korea President Yoon Suk-yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio held their first one-on-one talks on Wednesday and agreed on the need to improve relations dogged by historical disputes.
* US President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Liz Truss met in person for the first time on Wednesday and said they want to ensure the 1998 Good Friday Agreement that brought peace to Northern Ireland is protected.
* Russia's announcement that President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on the partial mobilization elicited a mixed reaction from the European markets on Wednesday.
* The head of the U.N. atomic watchdog is hoping to go to Ukraine and Russia soon to push for an agreement to create a protection zone at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.
* United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres emphasized Wednesday that the private sector is key to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
* Canada would contribute C$1.21 billion ($898.9 million) to a global health fund to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, and support health services that have been disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic, the Canadian government said in a statement on Wednesday.
* The United States and Iran clashed on security and human rights on Wednesday, with Iran's president demanding US guarantees to revive the 2015 Iran nuclear deal and the US president vowing Tehran would never get an atomic bomb.
* Outstanding issues between Iran and the U.N. nuclear watchdog will not be wished away, agency chief Rafael Grossi said on Wednesday, while Tehran insists on the closure of the agency's probes for revival of a 2015 nuclear pact.
* Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met on Tuesday, making the first face-to-face talks between leaders of the two countries since 2008, Lapid's office announced.
* Yemen and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) discussed in New York ways of promoting bilateral cooperation and the ongoing truce across Yemen, the national Yemen TV reported Wednesday.
* China will stay committed to achieving carbon peaking and carbon neutrality amid recent setbacks in global carbon reduction efforts as some countries fell back on coal plants to tide over an energy crunch, an official said Thursday.
* US stocks fell sharply on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve approved another outsized rate hike.
* The Japanese central bank on Thursday announced to maintain its ultralow rate policy, bucking the global trend of tightening policy to restrain soaring inflation.
* Malaysia's leading index (LI) which predicts the economic direction on average of four to six months ahead, remained stable by registering 109.5 points in July, as compared to 105.2 points a year ago.
* The wholesale price of gas and electricity for all non-domestic customers in the United Kingdom (UK) will be cut by half their anticipated level during this winter under a government support plan that was unveiled in London on Wednesday.
* Germany exported goods worth 8.9 billion euros (8.8 billion USD) to China in August, an increase of 17.2 percent year-on-year, according to preliminary figures published by the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) on Wednesday.
* The Colombian city of Medellin will ban the sale of gas-powered vehicles starting 2035 to help fight climate change, Mayor Daniel Quintero said Wednesday.
* Norway's central bank raised its benchmark interest rate by 50 basis points on Thursday, as expected by most economists, and said it plans to hike again in November.
* French President Emmanuel Macron reaffirmed in a television interview with BFM TV that a reform of the country's pension system was necessary.
* Afghanistan received 40 million USD in cash as humanitarian aid to bolster its impoverished economy on Wednesday, the country's central bank announced.
* The IMF mission chief for Lebanon on Wednesday urged the country to take measures to restore its financial confidence, Lebanon's Presidency said in a statement.
* The Global Fund to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria on Wednesday reached $14.25 billion pledged as world leaders seek to fight the killer diseases after progress was knocked off course by the COVID-19 pandemic.
* The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) on Wednesday said Brazil, the Dominican Republic, Haiti and Peru are at very high risk for the reintroduction of polio, as dwindling vaccination rates during the coronavirus pandemic has led to historic lows in protection against the illness.
* The death toll from malaria and other diseases tearing through Pakistan's flood-ravaged regions reached 324, authorities said on Wednesday, and actress Angelina Jolie said she feared many people she had met during visits to flood-hit areas this week would "not make it" if more aid did not arrive.
* Israel on Wednesday began providing the booster shot of an Omicron-adapted COVID-19 vaccine across the country, said Israel's major health service organization Clalit and the Ministry of Health.
* A magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck western Mexico early on Thursday, claiming the life of a woman in Mexico City who fell and hit her head as residents evacuated their homes during the country's second major temblor this week.
