World News in Brief: October 26

Timor-Leste has been welcomed into the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) as the grouping's 11th member, following an official ceremony at the 47th ASEAN Summit in the Malaysian capital on Sunday. Timor-Leste's President Jose Ramos-Horta and Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao were present at the signing of the Declaration on the Admission of Timor-Leste into ASEAN.

Indonesian army members transfer a woman from a dinghy to a wheelchair after heavy rain hit Semarang, Central Java, Indonesia, Oct. 25, 2025. (Photo: Xinhua)
Indonesian army members transfer a woman from a dinghy to a wheelchair after heavy rain hit Semarang, Central Java, Indonesia, Oct. 25, 2025. (Photo: Xinhua)

* Cambodia and Thailand on Sunday signed a joint declaration on peace on the sidelines of the 47th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit in the Malaysian capital. The declaration was signed by Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet and Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul.

* Independent politician Catherine Connolly has won Ireland's presidential election and will serve as the country's 10th president after receiving 63.36 percent of first preference votes, according to official results released on Saturday evening.

* The Chinese and U.S. delegations reconvened on Sunday for the second day of talks on economic and trade issues. The first day of talks took place on Saturday in the Malaysian capital.

* Chinese Premier Li Qiang said on Sunday that China is ready to work with Singapore and other members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to make China-ASEAN Free Trade Area 3.0 a success and jointly achieve greater development. Li made the remarks when meeting with Singapore's Acting President Eddie Teo during his official visit to the country.

* Kirill Dmitriev, Russian President Vladimir Putin's special envoy for investment and economic cooperation, will meet U.S. President Donald Trump's Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff on Saturday in Miami, Florida, U.S. media reported.

* U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday that he plans to increase tariffs on goods from Canada by an extra 10 percent because of an anti-tariff TV advertisement. The ad, aired by the Canadian province of Ontario, featured former President Ronald Reagan criticizing U.S. tariffs. Trump accused it of misleading and threatened on Thursday to end trade talks with Canada.

* Russian air defense systems shot down 281 Ukrainian drones during the past day, including nine over the Moscow region, the Russian Defense Ministry said Saturday.

* Traffic through Lithuania's border with Belarus reopened at noon on Saturday, more than 12 hours after a balloon intrusion led to a temporary suspension late Friday. According to the State Border Guard Service (VSAT), checks and crossings for people and vehicles at the Medininkai and Salcininkai checkpoints have resumed.

* Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi has said that no positive ground currently exists for interaction with the United States, citing deep distrust after years of negative experiences with Washington, Iranian media reported Saturday.

* The National Bureau for Defending Land and Resisting Settlements, part of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), on Saturday warned of Israeli plans to seize large areas of land in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

* Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty and Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan on Saturday stressed the need to uphold the Gaza ceasefire to maintain regional stability.

* The Palestinian National Liberation Movement (Fatah) on Saturday rejected any form of external guardianship over the Palestinian people and said that opposition to a unified Palestinian authority would only deepen internal divisions.

* Egypt has dispatched a specialized team and equipment to Gaza to assist in recovering the bodies of Israeli hostages held in the enclave, Egypt's Al-Qahera News reported Saturday.

* African Union (AU) Commissioner for Agriculture, Rural Development, Blue Economy and Sustainable Environment Moses Vilakati called for coordinated continental efforts to address the pressing food security challenges in Africa during the AU's biennial ministerial meeting.

* China saw 48,921 newly established foreign-invested firms in the first three quarters of 2025, a year-on-year increase of 16.2 percent, according to data released Saturday by the Ministry of Commerce.

* The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Friday approved a 233.2-million-U.S.-dollar loan to help expand access to reliable, safe water supply services in rural areas of Georgia.

* The Afghan government's national procurement commission has approved 22 development projects worth 3.5 billion afghani (over 53 million USD) to enhance infrastructure and economic opportunities, the office of the deputy prime minister for economic affairs announced on Saturday.

* Libya's Coast Security said its units rescued 49 Sudanese migrants from drowning off the coast of Zuwara, about 120 km west of Tripoli, the capital, the force said late on Friday.

* Japan's next-generation cargo spacecraft HTV-X was successfully launched at 9 a.m. local time on Sunday from the Tanegashima Space Center in Kagoshima Prefecture aboard the H3 rocket No. 7, reaching its planned orbit about 14 minutes later.

Xinhua
Back to top