* The Security Council on Thursday held its eighth straw poll on candidates for the next UN secretary-general.
* Former Israeli military chief Gadi Eisenkot is expected to be tasked with forming a government after the Arab Joint List announced on Thursday it would recommend him for prime minister, widening his lead over incumbent Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in presidential nominations.
* The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) on Thursday called for calm and patience as vote counting and verification continued following Wednesday's local government elections, which were conducted largely peacefully despite some localized disruptions.
* Paraguayan President Santiago Pena announced his resignation Thursday amid mounting pressure over the crisis of digital lender Ueno Bank, which left millions of customers unable to access their accounts and triggered a political crisis, as lawmakers debated impeachment proceedings against him.
* Grenada's ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC), led by incumbent Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell, won 14 of the 15 seats in the House of Representatives in Thursday's general election, according to results released by the country's Parliamentary Elections Office on Thursday evening.
* US President Donald Trump said Thursday that "a big agreement" to end the Russia-Ukraine conflict could be reached soon and might involve all of Europe.
* Around 600,000 people took part in demonstrations across France on Thursday, French television channel BFM TV reported, citing an initial estimate by the French Interior Ministry.
* Sweden announced Thursday that it would reintroduce internal border controls within the Schengen Area for six months starting Nov. 12, citing "a serious threat to public order and internal security."
* Police in the Australian state of Victoria said on Friday that a major operation targeting shootings and arson attacks in northwest Melbourne will be expanded across the city.
* The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) said Thursday it would continue to monitor developments and assess potential aviation safety implications following bomb threats against multiple passenger aircraft in Europe.
* The European Commission on Thursday unveiled an education and skills package to reverse declining achievement in basic skills, address teacher shortages and help schools use artificial intelligence (AI) safely.
* The General Assembly of the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye on Thursday approved a bill on the ratification of the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement among Türkiye, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, local media reported.
* Thailand's central bank said on Thursday that it will raise standards for licensed money changers and stop accepting new license applications for 2027, part of a wider effort to keep the sector from being used for illegal activity.
* Singapore will end its haze mitigation measures as improving weather conditions and a decline in regional haze activity lower the risk of transboundary haze, the National Environment Agency (NEA) said on Thursday.
* Niger and Mali reaffirmed their commitment to consolidating the Confederation of Sahel States (AES) and intensifying the fight against terrorism, according to a joint communique issued on Thursday.
* Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi and U.S. President Donald Trump discussed the regional situation during a phone conversation Thursday, the Iraqi prime minister's media office said in a statement.
* Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty and his Saudi counterpart, Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, on Thursday stressed the need to prioritize dialogue and allow more time for diplomatic and political efforts to prevent further escalation in the region.
* Oman and Iran on Thursday stressed the importance of consolidating sustainable understandings to ensure maritime security, end the state of war and prevent renewed confrontations in the region.
* A top Iranian security official said Thursday that Tehran's ongoing diplomacy with the United States was aimed solely at securing the country's rights, the semi-official Fars news agency reported.
* The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) will begin withdrawing from the country after its mandate expires on Dec. 31, 2026, in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 2790, the mission said Thursday.
* The United Nations calls on the Houthis in Yemen to release all UN personnel they have detained, and to provide information on them, a UN spokesman said on Thursday.
* UN agencies appealed on Thursday for 8.9 million USD to meet life-saving needs over the next three months as tens of thousands of people flee clashes in Ethiopia and cross into northern Kenya.
* Yemen's Houthi group said Thursday it had launched a drone attack on an international airport in eastern Saudi Arabia, while the Saudi-led coalition claimed interception of a ballistic missile and a drone launched toward Saudi territory.
* Finland has emerged as the leading destination for venture capital investment in defense and dual-use technologies in the Nordic region, attracting nearly 90 percent of the sector's total funding since 2020, according to a report released on Thursday.
* Kazakhstan plans to export 1.6 million tonnes of oil via the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline in 2026 and 1.7 million tonnes in 2027, the Interfax-Kazakhstan news agency reported Thursday, citing the Kazakh Energy Ministry.
* At least eight people were killed and 30 others injured when a passenger bus collided with a dumper truck in Pakistan's northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province early Friday, rescue officials said.
