* The leader of Moldova's Action and Solidarity Party (PAS), Igor Grosu, was re-elected speaker of the country's parliament on Wednesday. Grosu's candidacy, proposed by the PAS parliamentary majority, received 55 votes in the 101-seat chamber. His challenger, Alexandr Stoianoglo, nominated by the Alternative, garnered 32 votes.
* Cameroon's Constitutional Council announced on Wednesday evening that the final results of the country's presidential election will be proclaimed on Monday, 15 days after the poll.
* UN humanitarians said Wednesday that delivering vital support to northern Gaza remains challenging, even though the ceasefire took effect more than 10 days ago.
* Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, will lead a delegation to Malaysia from Oct. 24 to 27 to hold economic and trade consultations with the U.S. side, China's Ministry of Commerce announced Thursday.
* U.S. President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he has canceled his planned meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
* A date for the meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump has not been set, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday.
* Russia conducted a strategic nuclear forces exercise overseen by President Vladimir Putin, the Kremlin said Wednesday. According to the official statement, the training involved all three components of Russia's nuclear triad in the land, sea and air.
* Ukrainian forces conducted strikes on a military plant and an oil refinery in Russia, the general staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces reported Wednesday in a statement.
* U.S. Treasury Department on Wednesday announced sanctions on Russia's two largest oil producers, Rosneft and Lukoil, in a bid to pressure Moscow to agree to an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine.
* European Union (EU) member states on Wednesday approved the bloc's 19th package of sanctions against Russia over the conflict, which includes a ban on imports of Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG), said the Danish presidency of the EU Council.
* The railway operators of Azerbaijan, Georgia and Kazakhstan have reached an agreement on implementing a unified long-term tariff for transportation along the Middle Corridor, Azerbaijani Prime Minister Ali Asadov said Wednesday.
* Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Wednesday that he will double the country's exports to non-U.S. markets over the next decade to reduce its economic reliance on the United States.
* Afghan government's chief spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid on Wednesday welcomed India's recent decision to upgrade its mission in Kabul to an embassy, saying such a step would increase bilateral trust and cooperation. Speaking to the local media Tolonews, Mujahid said the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan will work to further expand its relations with India.
* Indonesia and South Africa have pledged to deepen economic cooperation as leaders of the two countries issued a joint press statement in Jakarta on Wednesday.
* New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters and British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper held a dialogue in London on Tuesday to highlight cooperation and partnership, according to a New Zealand government statement on Wednesday.
* The Asian Development Bank (ADB) said on Thursday that it has approved a 10-million-U.S.-dollar policy-based grant to help enhance public sector management and social and economic resilience in Tonga.
* Finland, Sweden, Norway, and Denmark have agreed to jointly procure unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) and related technologies, the Finnish Ministry of Defense announced on Wednesday.
* Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum on Tuesday said 2,382 Mexicans have been taken into custody in the United States since January this year.
* UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres hopes that Israel will abide by the advisory opinion issued by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) concerning Israel's responsibilities in the occupied Palestinian territory, a UN spokesperson said Wednesday.
* Forty irregular immigrants from sub-Saharan African countries have died after their boat capsized off the eastern coast of Tunisia during an attempt to cross the Mediterranean Sea toward Europe, private radio station Mosaique FM reported Wednesday.
* UN humanitarians said Wednesday that delivering vital support to northern Gaza remains challenging, even though the ceasefire took effect more than 10 days ago.
* The Palestinian foreign ministry on Wednesday condemned Israel's preliminary approval of a bill to extend sovereignty over the occupied West Bank, saying Israel has no authority over any part of Palestinian territory.
* Iraqi and Syrian anti-narcotics forces carried out a joint operation inside Syrian territory, seizing hundreds of kilograms of drugs and arresting several suspects wanted internationally, Iraq's Interior Ministry said on Wednesday.
* Advancing to the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire is a key priority, Jordanian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said on Wednesday during talks with Dutch Foreign Minister David van Weel in Amman, according to a Foreign Ministry statement.
* Iran's Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said on Wednesday that Tehran will not return to the negotiating table unless the United States abandons "excessive demands" and "unreasonable" requests.
* The Turkish parliament on Tuesday approved a presidential motion extending the mandate of Turkish troops stationed in Iraq and Syria for an additional three years.
* The Pakistan Navy has seized narcotics valued at about 972 million USD during an operation in the North Arabian Sea, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said on Wednesday.
* New Zealand greenhouse gas emissions fell 1.5 percent, or 287 kilotonnes, in the June 2025 quarter, Stats NZ reported Thursday.
* China's electricity consumption, a key barometer of economic activity, saw steady expansion in September, official data showed on Thursday. Power use rose 4.5 percent year on year in September to 888.6 billion kilowatt-hours, according to the National Energy Administration.
* Indonesia was preparing to impose a mandatory 10 percent bioethanol blend for fuel products by 2027 or 2028 as part of efforts to reduce dependence on fossil fuels and accelerate the transition to clean energy to curb carbon emissions.
* Cambodia exported garments, textiles, shoes, and travel goods totally worth 12.2 billion USD in the first nine months of 2025, a year-on-year increase of 16.7 percent, said an official report on Thursday.
* The Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA) has secured a 7.3 billion ringgit (1.73 billion USD) potential green investment at the International Greentech & Eco Products Exhibition and Conference Malaysia (IGEM) 2025, positioning Malaysia as Southeast Asia's clean energy hub.
* The central bank of Indonesia has decided to maintain its benchmark interest rate at 4.75 percent, Governor of Bank Indonesia (BI) Perry Warjiyo announced at a press conference on Wednesday.
* Britain's consumer price index (CPI) rose by 3.8 percent year on year in September 2025, remaining at the highest rate since January 2024, data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed Wednesday. The September, August and July figures were the joint-highest since January 2024, when the rate was 4 percent, according to the ONS.
* Egypt's non-oil exports grew by 21 percent year-on-year to 36.639 billion USD during the January-September period of 2025, Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade Hassan El-Khatib said on Wednesday.
* The Philippines has imposed a temporary ban on the importation of live cattle and water buffalo, as well as embryos, semen, and raw hides from Spain, following an outbreak of lumpy skin disease (LSD) in the region of Cataluna, the country's Department of Agriculture said Wednesday.
* Bird flu has been detected at a laying hen farm in Dodewaard, in the Gelderland province, prompting the culling of all approximately 161,000 birds at the site, Dutch authorities said on Wednesday.
* France will raise its bird flu risk level from "moderate" to "high" starting Wednesday to strengthen protection measures for poultry farms, according to the country's agriculture authorities.
* Nearly 50 percent of Mongolia's land is now blanketed in snow, the country's National Agency for Meteorology and Environmental Monitoring reported on Thursday.
