BANGKOK, Sept 18 (Reuters) - Thai protest leaders said on Friday they expected the biggest anti-government demonstration in years this weekend and vowed to reiterate their calls for reforms of the monarchy despite official pressure to stop.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Commerce Department plans to issue an order Friday that will bar people in the United States from downloading Chinese-owned messaging app WeChat and video-sharing app TikTok starting on September 20, three officials told Reuters.

BRUSSELS/PARIS, Sept 18 (Reuters) - The European Union has agreed to buy a potential COVID-19 vaccine from Sanofi and GSK in its second such deal to secure supplies, as a deadline for joining the World Health Organization's (WHO) vaccine purchase program looms.

Sept 18 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - A Hong Kong court refused on Friday to recognize same-sex marriages conducted abroad, dealing a blow to the city's LGBT+ community in a case brought by a gay local councilor who got married in New York.

GENEVA (Reuters) - Belarus opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya demanded on Friday an international mission to document what she called "atrocities" during crackdowns on anti-government protests but said she was ready to talk to end weeks of violence.

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's Toshiba Corp on Friday said more than 1,000 postal voting forms for its shareholder meeting went uncounted, and the bank that counted the votes, which carries out a similar job for almost a thousand listed companies, said the oversight may not have been limited to Toshiba.

TUNIS, Sept 18 (Reuters) - Eastern Libyan commander Khalifa Haftar said in a broadcast on Friday that his forces had decided to resume oil production after having blockaded export facilities since January, without giving further details.

LONDON, Sept 18 (Reuters) - The dollar was unable to shake off the previous session's lows on Friday and was set for a weekly fall, losing out to the Japanese yen in particular, which hit a seven-week high as investors sought the safe-haven currency.

GENEVA, Sept 18 (Reuters) - Belarus opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya demanded on Friday an international mission to document what she called "atrocities" during crackdowns on anti-government protests but said she was ready to talk to end weeks of violence.