The weather bureau of Laos issued a flood alert on Thursday as water levels in the Mekong River and its main tributaries continue to rise following days of heavy rain across Laos.

The level of the Mekong River in Luang Prabang was recorded at 19.02 metres on Thursday, exceeding the danger level of 18 metres, according to the Department of Meteorology and Hydrology under the Lao Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.

The level of the Mekong River section in Oudomxay was recorded at 29.90 meters, exceeding the warning level of 29 metres, with the danger level at 30 metres, reports news agency.

Turkey has launched an investigation into the killing of a Turkish-American woman by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank, Turkish Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc said on Thursday.

Turkey would not stay silent in the face of an "unlawful terrorist attack by Israeli forces," Tunc told reporters, adding that the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office has initiated a probe under domestic law.

He added that Turkey "will work to prepare a report by forming an independent investigation commission."

"Afterwards, we will continue our work on including this report in the UN Human Rights Council, the ongoing genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice, and the ongoing investigation at the International Criminal Court," he said.

At least 17 people have died in floods triggered by heavy rain in the Yamethin township of Mandalay region within two days, an official from the Mandalay Fire Services Department told news agency on Thursday.

Heavy rain caused by the strong monsoon and remnants of Typhoon Yagi has led to severe flooding in several regions across Myanmar, U Hla Tun, director of the Department of Meteorology and Hydrology, told.

Central Myanmar is currently the hardest hit among the flood-affected regions, with its numerous creeks and rivers flowing down from the mountains, he said.

The high peaks of Badrinath Dham and Hemkund Sahib in Chamoli witnessed the season's first snowfall on Thursday following heavy rainfall that lashed Uttarakhand for the past 24 hours.

The Valley of Flowers, located near the India-China border, was also blanketed in snow after the snowfall began at around 2 p.m.

The sudden drop in temperature has made the weather cold and dry, marking an early onset of winter conditions in September.

The snowfall has left the peaks covered in a thick white layer, with cold winds blowing in the lower regions, further disrupting life in the mountains.

Continuous heavy rain over the last 24 hours has added to the troubles, with people remaining indoors due to the increased chill brought by the retreating monsoon.

The South Korean government will accelerate efforts to verify the lists received from Japan of Korean passengers killed in a controversial 1945 sinking of a Japanese vessel, to help with victims' compensation, a Seoul official said on Thursday.

Last week, Japan gave South Korea 19 cases out of some 70 documents related to the passenger lists of the Ukishima Maru that sank in waters after an explosion in August 1945, news agency reported.

The ship was transporting back home many Koreans who had been forcibly mobilised for wartime labour, as Korea was liberated from Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule.

South Korea had requested Japan to provide the lists amid controversy over the cause of the sinking and Japan's reluctance to disclose them after the existence of the lists was revealed despite years of denial by Tokyo.

Indian equity indices closed in the green on Thursday led by metal, auto and banking stocks.

Sensex closed at 1,439 points or 1.77 per cent higher at 82,962 and Nifty closed 470 points or 1.89 per cent higher at 25,388.

Intraday, both Sensex and Nifty made a new all-time high of 83,116 and 25,433 respectively.

Buying was seen in the midcap and smallcap stocks. The Nifty Midcap 100 index was at 59,640, up 702 points or 1.19 per cent and the Nifty Smallcap 100 index was at 19,354, up 192 points or 1.01 per cent.

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has expressed a deep concern over the catastrophic impact monsoon floods have had on students in Pakistan, citing that more than 230,000 children have been affected by school closures in Pakistan's Sindh province alone.

The floods have damaged over 1,300 schools, with 228 fully destroyed, leaving hundreds of thousands of children without access to education.

The latest data from Sindh's Education Department reveals that over 450 schools are not functioning due to standing flood water, with immediate consequences for children's learning. The floods have also displaced 140,000 children and families in 10 calamity-hit districts, exacerbating the crisis.

CPI-M General Secretary Sitaram Yechury, who was undergoing treatment at the intensive care unit at the AIIMS here, passed away on Thursday. He was 72.

The CPI-M leader was admitted to AIIMS on August 19 for the treatment of a pneumonia-like chest infection.

He was being treated for acute respiratory tract infection and had been on respiratory support for some days now, as per a CPI-M statement on Tuesday, adding his condition was "critical but stable". A multidisciplinary team of doctors was tending to him, it added.

Yechury had succeeded Prakash Karat as the CPI-M chief in 2015.

The Left leader, who recently underwent a cataract surgery, was a member of the CPI-M's Politburo, the top decision-making body, for over three decades.

Ahead of Assembly elections, Haryana Congress got a shot in the arm on Thursday as AAP state Joint Secretary and vocal leader Loveleen Tuteja and his supporters joined the party in the presence of former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda.

Tuteja was an aspirant from Rohtak, but AAP fielded Bijendra Hooda. Rohtak is dominated by Punjabis and Tuteja too belongs to that community. His entry into political circles is being seen as a boost to the party’s winning prospects.

Tuteja has been staging protests against the government. He was placed under house arrest on several occasions to prevent him from holding protests during the Chief Minister’s visits to Rohtak.

Fiji's Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) is handling multiple cases involving proceeds of crimes linked to drug-related activities, highlighting the growing complexity of such cases in the island nation.

Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions John Rabuku said the nature of these cases has prompted the creation of a dedicated division within the ODPP to focus on combating drug-related crimes, local media reported on Thursday.