* Thailand's new coalition government of Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul and his cabinet ministers was sworn into office on Wednesday, following the royal endorsement of the new portfolios last week.
* Malawi's former President Peter Mutharika has won the presidential election with 56.8 percent of the vote, securing a decisive lead over incumbent Lazarus Chakwera, the country's electoral commission announced Wednesday.
* UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday stressed the importance of ensuring human control of artificial intelligence (AI) over the use of force.
* China on Thursday called on the United States to take positive actions, cancel relevant unreasonable tariffs, and create conditions for expanding bilateral trade. He Yadong, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Commerce, made the remarks at a press briefing in response to questions regarding potential Chinese purchases of U.S. soybeans and Boeing aircraft.
* Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday reaffirmed their shared interest in seeking peaceful solutions to the Ukraine crisis, said the Russian Foreign Ministry. The two top diplomats met in New York on the sidelines of the high-level week of the 80th session of the UN General Assembly, said the ministry.
* Moscow would rather maintain contacts on Ukraine alongside talks on its relations with Washington, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday.
* Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin accused certain political forces in the European Union (EU) of attempting to derail dialogue between Moscow and Washington by leveling unfounded accusations against Russia, local media reported Wednesday.
* Iran and Russia on Wednesday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the construction of small modular reactors (SMRs) in Iran.
* Lithuania's government on Wednesday decided to extend temporary protection for Ukrainian citizens fleeing the conflict until March 2027. Under the existing resolution, temporary protection for Ukrainian citizens is in place until March 4, 2026.
* An attack by the Ukrainian Armed Forces on Russia's port city of Novorossiysk has left two people dead and six injured, Russia's regional crisis response center said on Wednesday.
* Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva voiced optimism on Wednesday after a brief meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump, even as ties between the two countries remain tense.
* Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum on Wednesday condemned the immigration raids carried out in the United States by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), saying a diplomatic note was sent to Washington requesting an investigation into the recent deaths of two Mexican nationals.
* The U.S. state of California and Brazil have announced an expanded partnership to scale up cooperation on climate, clean energy, cutting pollution, and job-creating climate opportunities.
* A family of three has arrived in Britain as the first people under the government's "one in, one out" agreement with France, the Home Office announced on Wednesday. The arrival of the family, including a child, came after the removal of the first four migrants from Britain to France as part of the year-long scheme.
* In Gaza, one child has been killed on average every hour for almost two years, leaving children trapped in a graveyard, the UN humanitarian chief said on Wednesday. UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher said children have been bombed, maimed, starved, burned alive, buried in the rubble of their homes, and separated from their parents.
* The Palestinian Foreign Ministry on Wednesday condemned Israel's closure of the Karama Bridge, known in Israel as the Allenby Bridge, the only land crossing between the occupied West Bank and Jordan, calling it a policy of "collective punishment."
* As more Western countries recognize Palestinian statehood, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda has called on world leaders to revive discussions on a two-state solution, recognizing Palestine as a state and Jerusalem as the capital of both Israel and Palestine, the Baltic News Service (BNS) reported on Wednesday.
* Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Wednesday dismissed a move by France, Britain and Germany to reinstate United Nations sanctions on Tehran, saying it lacked "international legitimacy," state news agency IRNA reported.
* Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, held talks on Wednesday over Tehran's nuclear issue and bilateral relations.
* Saudi Arabia and Qatar on Wednesday announced joint financial support of 89 million USD to Syria, the Saudi Press Agency reported. The funding, provided through the Saudi Fund for Development and the Qatar Fund for Development, will support public sector employees in Syria for three months, aiming to ensure the continued delivery of essential services and strengthen government budget allocations.
* A drone launched from Yemen struck the southern Israeli resort city of Eilat on Wednesday evening, injuring at least 20 people, two of them seriously, according to Israel's emergency medical service and the military.
* At least 55 Palestinians were killed across the Gaza Strip on Wednesday due to Israeli attacks, according to official and local Palestinian sources.
* One person was shot dead and two others injured, with the shooter also dead, at a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facility here in the southern state of Texas on Wednesday morning, U.S. media outlets reported.
* By the end of August, the cumulative trading volume of China's carbon emissions rights trading market was nearly 700 million tonnes, with a trading value of approximately 48 billion yuan (about 6.6 billion USD).
* Philippine President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos is moving to tighten the country's rice import policy by extending the current two-month import suspension and raising tariffs on foreign rice, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said Wednesday.
* Russia's budget deficit is projected to reach 1.6 percent of GDP in 2026, Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said Wednesday, as the government approved the country's draft budget for 2026-2028.
* Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev announced that Uzbekistan aims to join the ranks of upper-middle-income countries by 2030, the presidential press service said in a statement on Tuesday.
* Thailand's exports expanded for a 14th consecutive month in August but at a reduced rate due to newly imposed U.S. tariffs, official data showed on Wednesday.
* The Estonian government approved Wednesday the 2026 state budget with a deficit of 4.5 percent of gross domestic product (GDP). In 2026, budget revenues are projected at 18.6 billion euros (21.8 billion USD), expenditures at 19.5 billion euros, and investments at 1.3 billion euros.
* A barrier lake overflow triggered by heavy rain from Typhoon Ragasa had left 17 dead, 32 injured, and 17 missing in Taiwan (China) as of 4 p.m. Wednesday, according to local authorities. The barrier lake burst on Tuesday afternoon in the island's eastern Hualien County. The floods triggered by the burst have now receded.
* Chinese authorities on Wednesday earmarked 150 million yuan (about 21 million USD) of central natural disaster-relief funds to support rescue and relief work in regions impacted by flooding caused by Typhoon Ragasa.
* NASA launched three new space weather missions on Wednesday, sending them on a million-mile journey to study the Sun's influence on Earth and its space environment. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifted off at 7:30 a.m. Eastern Time (1130 GMT) from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in the U.S. state of Florida, carrying the trio of spacecraft.
