* Experts and industry leaders at a UN Security Council high-level meeting on artificial intelligence (AI) on Wednesday called for stronger governance of frontier AI and closer international cooperation to address growing risks.
* The Lao government has reviewed the country's socio-economic performance and set key priorities, focusing on economic management, public security, and disaster recovery.
* Republic of Korean President Lee Jae Myung on Tuesday expressed the hope that the long-suspended dialogue between the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and the United States would resume without delay.
* The Argentine government on Tuesday hailed a proposed bill concerning the disputed Malvinas Islands as a "milestone" in the process of recovering the archipelago and an "unprecedented" step forward on the legal front.
* Israel's newest submarine entered its territorial waters on Wednesday after a 25-day voyage from Germany, following months of delays linked to arms restrictions imposed by several Western countries, amid criticism of Israel's conduct of the war in Gaza, Israeli state-owned Kan TV news reported.
* The European Commission on Wednesday proposed unlocking 4.2 billion euros (about 4.8 billion USD) in cohesion funding for Hungary, which has been suspended over rule-of-law concerns under the country's previous government.
* Portugal's law banning the concealment of the face in public spaces entered into force on Wednesday, introducing fines of up to 3,000 euros (3,420 USD) for those who cover their faces in public without an accepted justification.
* Pakistani security forces killed 19 militants in a series of intelligence-based counterterrorism operations in the country's southwest Balochistan province, the military said on Wednesday evening.
* Israel's Central Elections Committee voted on Wednesday to bar all of the country's Arab-majority parties from the Oct. 27 elections, leaving no major Arab list currently eligible to run unless the Supreme Court overturns the decisions.
* Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said on Wednesday the country's positions and conditions for "reviving diplomacy" were clearly conveyed to the United States the previous day through Qatar's mediation.
* The defense ministers of Egypt, Greece and Cyprus met in Cairo on Wednesday to discuss strengthening military cooperation, according to a statement by the Egyptian Armed Forces.
* Pakistan conducted "precision aerial and drone strikes" on 10 locations in Afghanistan used for launching and storing drones, in an exercise of self-defense, Pakistan's Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar said Thursday morning.
* Türkiye's TCG Kemalreis frigate is making a port visit to Saudi Arabia's port city of Jeddah, the Turkish Defense Ministry said in a statement on Wednesday. The visit, which began on Sunday, will last until Thursday, according to the statement.
* Welcoming the latest 550,000 liters of fuel allowed into Gaza, UN humanitarians said on Wednesday that their partners warn the overall volume imported remains short of the bare minimum necessary. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said the fuel allowed in on Tuesday will help keep basic services running but is far from sufficient.
* Lebanese President Joseph Aoun on Wednesday met with visiting Syrian economy chief Mohammad Nidal al-Shaar to discuss ties between the two countries, according to a statement by the Lebanese presidency.
* Iran's Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) announced on Wednesday that six people, including one of its commanders and five "terrorists," were killed in a counter-terrorism operation in the southeastern province of Sistan and Baluchestan earlier in the day.
* Yemen's Houthi group said Wednesday that Saudi Arabia had carried out 52 air and missile strikes against Houthi-held areas across five Yemeni provinces over the past 24 hours, as intensified fighting and aerial attacks continued on several fronts.
* Yemen's Houthi group said Wednesday that more than 400 commercial vessels had crossed the strategic Bab al-Mandab Strait between Sept. 11 and Sept. 21, as fighting continued near the key waterway.
* Oman said Wednesday that 27 crew members had been evacuated from an Antigua and Barbuda-flagged commercial vessel following an attack off Musandam Governorate that left one crew member dead.
* Egypt has launched its first locally developed industrial robot, marking a step toward expanding domestic capabilities in advanced manufacturing, the Ministry of Trade and Industry said Wednesday. The robot, developed by the Industrial Modernization Center in cooperation with RaedBots and Qube, is designed for integration into an industrial application, the ministry said.
* Global economic growth is projected to be 2.9 percent in 2026 and 3.0 percent in 2027, according to the Economic Outlook Interim Report released by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) on Wednesday. Growth in the advanced G20 economies, as well as in the G20 emerging-market economies, is projected to remain broadly stable, the report said.
* The Asian Development Bank (ADB) forecasts Laos' economy will grow by 4 percent in 2026, rising to 4.5 percent in 2027, as easing inflation and greater exchange-rate stability help restore confidence and support economic activity.
* The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has raised its forecast for Uzbekistan's economic growth in 2026 to 7 percent, from its previous estimate of 6.7 percent, according to the September edition of the Asian Development Outlook 2026.
* The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said Sri Lanka's economy expanded 4.2 percent year-on-year in the second quarter of 2026, marking 11 consecutive quarters of growth, while fiscal performance in the first half of the year was also described as strong.
* Australia's unemployment rate rose to its highest level in almost five years in August, according to official data released on Thursday. The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) said that the unemployment rate rose from 4.5 percent in July to 4.6 percent in August, the highest figure since November 2021.
* The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) on Wednesday raised its policy rate by 25 basis points to 7.25 percent, citing heightened inflation risks amid renewed fuel price pressures and persistent global supply shocks.
* The Norwegian government said Wednesday it had begun work on a state planning process for Fensfeltet, a rare earths deposit in southern Norway that it describes as "the largest documented deposit of its kind in Europe."
* A cargo ship came under fire after it was hit by an "unknown projectile" in the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, a British maritime agency reported
* The New Zealand government is providing 150,000 NZ dollars (85,217 USD) in one-off funding to six accredited wildlife care facilities to support bird flu surveillance and response, ministers said Thursday.
* Escalating conflict and strong El Nino are two main risks for developing Asia and the Pacific economies, according to a report released by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Wednesday.
* NASA and SpaceX are targeting Oct. 1 as the earliest launch opportunity for the Crew-13 mission to the International Space Station, NASA said Tuesday.
* The death toll from the capsized Virgo Transport 8 in the Java Sea off South Kalimantan rose to 28 on Wednesday, with 107 people still missing, according to Indonesia's National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas).
