Some legal practitioners appear to be making a fuss over the process of forming the federal government without applying the same principle to state governments.

Political stability has proven elusive for the poor nation, wedged between China and India, discouraging many investors.

Outgoing President Michel Aoun's term ends on Oct 31 and divisions remain among political blocs over the makeup of a new cabinet.

British financial markets came under strain when Finance Minister Kwasi Kwarteng announced US$50 billion of tax cuts and unprecedented support on energy bills without saying how they would be paid for.

The government has announced it will lift its intake of permanent migrants to 195,000 this financial year, up by 35,000, to help businesses with staff shortfalls and ease reliance on short-term workers.

The government of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, an Abe protege, decided the state funeral would be paid for solely with state funds.

Prawit Wongsuwan is a longtime ally of Prayuth and was part of the military junta that ruled Thailand for nearly five years following Prayuth's 2014 coup ouster of an elected government

The island nation is facing its worst financial crisis since independence in 1948 with its foreign exchange reserves at record lows, and the economy battered by the pandemic and a steep fall in government revenue.

Draghi had already tendered his resignation last week after one of his partners, the populist 5-Star Movement, failed to back him in a confidence vote on measures tackling the high cost of living.

A new prime minister will be announced on Sept 5, after the Conservative Party's 200,000 members cast postal ballots over the summer.

With no clear candidate to succeed Boris Johnson who is stepping down after a series of scandals, the battle to be the next leader remains unpredictable and fractious, exposing rifts in the ruling Conservative Party.

Italy might need early elections to overcome a political impasse, government officials say, after Prime Minister Mario Draghi tendered his resignation in the wake of a mutiny by a coalition partner.