* Cameroon's National Commission for the final counting of votes for the presidential election began the final tally on Friday, according to the country's electoral body, Elections Cameroon.
* U.S. President Donald Trump met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House on Friday, but ruled out a U.S.-Russia-Ukraine summit in the near future.
* The Kremlin said Friday that Russian President Vladimir Putin might meet with U.S. President Donald Trump in Budapest, Hungary within two weeks or a little later.
* Europe should focus on preparing for peace rather than war, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Friday in an interview with national radio Kossuth.
* Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday accused leading Western media outlets of exploiting their dominant position to distribute content at their own discretion and often under the guise of objective reporting.
* Pakistan on Friday reopened Spin Boldak crossing point for Afghan refugees to return to their homeland, Afghan media reported. The main crossing point, which was shut down in the wake of border skirmishes a couple of days ago, reopened on Friday for returning refugees.
* Thai Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Anutin Charnvirakul said Friday that the new government will strengthen all-round cooperation with China. Anutin made the remarks during a meeting with Chinese Ambassador to Thailand Zhang Jianwei.
* The Italian cabinet on Friday passed the new budget bill for 2026, including tax cuts and other measures worth 18.7 billion euros (21.8 billion USD) in total.
* The Israeli army will physically mark the so-called "yellow line," the boundary to which its forces withdrew last week under the Gaza ceasefire, Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Friday.
* The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) received from the Red Cross a coffin of an unidentified Israeli hostage held in Gaza, the IDF said early Saturday in a statement.
* Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei on Friday strongly condemned recent deadly airstrikes by Israel on targets in Lebanon.
* The Security Council on Friday adopted a resolution to renew the sanctions regime on Haiti for another year. Resolution 2794, which won the unanimous support of the 15-member council, extends the sanctions regime, which includes an arms embargo, travel ban and assets freeze measures, for one year from the date of the adoption of this resolution.
* The UN Security Council on Friday welcomed the Lebanese government's efforts and commitments to exercise sovereignty over its whole territory.
* A total of 52 cooperation agreements worth 4.1 billion USD were signed following the "Dushanbe Invest 2025" International Investment Forum, the Asia-Plus News Agency reported Thursday, citing Tajikistan's State Committee on Investments and State Property Management.
* The fifth Türkiye-Africa Business and Economic Forum concluded Friday in Istanbul, highlighting growing trade, investment, and sustainable development ties between Türkiye and African nations.
* Pakistan's Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal said on Friday that poverty alleviation is a central pillar of the national development agenda.
* Malaysia's utility firm Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB), Singapore's energy solutions firm SP Group and Singapore Energy Interconnections (SGEI), signed a joint development agreement on Friday to conduct a full feasibility study for the development of a second electricity interconnection between Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore.
* Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) has placed its disaster management and emergency response units on full standby from Oct. 16 to 28, following forecasts of heavy rainfall and possible thunderstorms across Colombo and nearby areas.
* Mexico's new trade agreement reached with the European Union (EU) is expected to take effect in February 2026 after being signed in the coming months, said Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum on Friday.
* The Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) has announced that at least 8 billion USD were generated from gold exports since January to boost the country's foreign exchange reserves.
* Russian cosmonauts have completed the first spacewalk of 2025 from the Russian segment of the International Space Station (ISS), the state space corporation Roscosmos said Thursday.
