Pita Limjaroenrat, the frontrunner for prime minister, has faced a number of challenges. Last month the Election Commission set up a special committee to investigate whether he was qualified to run for office.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is to be the guest of honor at France's traditional Bastille Day parade, reflecting growing strategic ties between the two nations. But the planned visit has its share of critics.

Ethiopia recently applied to join BRICS — an economic group comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. The body is seen as an alternative to the Bretton Woods institutions and the West's dominance in geopolitics. But can a country like Ethiopia, whose economy is ranked 59th in the world, sit as an equal partner with a country like China, whose economy is ranked second globally?

Although Baghdad maintained diplomatic ties with Syria during the civil war, no Iraqi prime minister has visited Damascus for over a decade.

Thailand's Constitutional Court will temporarily suspend Pita as it hears a case regarding his stake in a now-defunct media company. The announcement came as lawmakers were about to vote for a new prime minister.

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's office issued a state of emergency after days of clashes between security forces and a militia group in the Amhara region.

The billionaire said it was due to a medical examination, but with a constitutional ruling set for August 16, he may be waiting it out after 15 years in self-exile following corruption charges in 2007.

Armed militias are fighting against Ethiopia's National Defense Forces in the Amhara region. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has declared a state of emergency, and experts warn that the national peace process is in jeopardy.

General elections must be held within 90 days of the dissolution of the parliament's lower house, which occurred earlier this week. But elections could be delayed as the Election Commission redraws constituencies.

Authorities in Ethiopia have initiated a crackdown on the LGBTQ+ community. Rights activists have branded it a diversionary tactic in the wake of renewed violence across the country.

Shah Mehmood Qureshi was detained shortly after giving a press conference in which he slammed authorities for seeking to delay the election. Some experts think the vote, due in November, could be pushed to next year.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said on Monday his government was looking to change the law following reports British nurse Lucy Letby was refusing to leave her cell for sentencing. Letby was convicted on Friday (August 18) of murdering seven babies and trying to kill another six at the hospital where she worked in northwest England, making her one of the country's worst serial child killers.