* Uruguayan President Luis Lacalle Pou on Sunday recognized the opposition candidate Yamandu Orsi as president-elect, who will succeed him in the 2025-2030 period after Orsi won the second round of the presidential elections against Alvaro Delgado.
* Independent candidate Calin Georgescu maintains a commanding lead in Romania's presidential election with 22.84 percent of the vote, according to near-complete results from Romania's Permanent Electoral Authority, with over 99.5 percent of ballots counted. Georgescu has secured over 2 million votes, holding a significant 340,000-vote advantage over his closest competitor.
* United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Monday that threat from landmines remained as some state parties to the Mine-Ban Convention, known as the "Ottawa Treaty", renewed the use of anti-personnel mines.
* China will extend its visa-free arrangement for Australian citizens to 30 days from Nov. 30 to the end of 2025, the Chinese embassy in Australia said in a statement on Monday.
* South Korea and Malaysia signed an agreement on Monday to cooperate in supplying critical minerals from Malaysia's reserves and to boost cooperation in the defence industry as the Southeast Asian country looks to upgrade its air force jets.
* Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan held a phone call on Sunday with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, discussing bilateral relations and regional and global issues, according to Erdogan's office.
* NATO allies will need to spend much closer to 3% of their gross domestic product (GDP) on their militaries to implement the alliance's new defence plans, a NATO top military official said on Monday, as costs will surpass the alliance's existing 2% target.
* Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said on Sunday that deputy foreign ministers of Iran, France, Germany, and Britain will meet on Friday for talks on bilateral as well as Tehran's nuclear issue, among other topics.
* European Union (EU) Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell said Sunday that Hezbollah and Israel must be pressured to accept the U.S. proposal for a ceasefire, pledging 200 million USD to the Lebanese army.
* Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said Sunday that Egypt "stands with any Arab country facing aggression or threats from Israel," warning against dragging the region into a full-scale war.
* The supreme leader of Iran said on Monday that death sentences should be issued for Israeli leaders, not arrest warrants.
* Iran rejects allegations that it was involved in the murder of Israeli rabbi Zvi Kogan in the United Arab Emirates, Iran's embassy in Abu Dhabi said in a statement to Reuters on Sunday.
* United Nations Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen called on Sunday for boosting funding for Syria, as more than 400,000 Syrian refugees have returned from Lebanon, placing a significant burden on the nation's resources.
* Some 45 people, including 31 tourists and 14 crew members, were missing after their safari boat sank off the northern area of Marsa Alam city at the Red Sea, the Red Sea Province said on its official Facebook page on Monday.
* At least 22 Somali citizens died when two migrant boats capsized off the coast of Madagascar over the weekend, Somalia's Information Minister Daud Aweis said.
* Russia is expected to export 55-60 million tons of grain this agricultural season, a drop from 72 million tons last season, Russia's TASS news agency reported Monday.
* Uzbekistan exported food products worth 1.7 billion USD in the first 10 months of this year, local media reported Sunday, citing data from the country's Statistics Agency.
* Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune on Sunday signed the 2025 budget law, projecting an economic growth rate of 4.5 percent, according to a statement from the presidency.
* The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Monday said it has approved a loan of 200 million USD to upgrade Sri Lanka's power sector infrastructure.
* Britain's roads and railways were hit by closures on Monday after Storm Bert battered the country over the weekend, causing widespread flooding and killing four people.
