* A runoff is expected in Bulgaria's presidential election, according to partial results published by the country's electoral commission on Monday. With 95.29 percent of the votes counted, Bulgaria's incumbent President Iliana Iotova is currently ahead of the other 26 candidates, receiving 34.598 percent of the ballots cast in Sunday's election, while former Bulgarian caretaker Prime Minister Andrey Gurov came second with 32.038 percent.
* Advance voting opened across New Zealand on Monday, allowing voters to cast their ballots nearly two weeks before the Nov. 7 general election, as political parties vie for support in a closely contested race.
* Malaysia is strengthening its maritime preparedness through continuous surveillance, information sharing and regional cooperation to ensure the Strait of Malacca remains safe, stable and open to international trade, Deputy Defense Minister Adly Zahari said on Monday.
* Educational exchange and cooperation between China and the US are desired by both sides and benefit both sides, and should not be held back or disrupted, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said at a regular media briefing on Monday.
* Russian engineering units have defused more than 300 explosive devices and mines on roads to the town of Oleshky in the Kherson region over the past week, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Monday.
* British Prime Minister Andy Burnham ruled out Britain rejoining the EU in the current parliament in an interview broadcast on Monday by British media. When asked whether he wants Britain to rejoin the EU, Burnham said he wants to see that happen in his lifetime, but he is "not proposing rejoining in this parliament."
* Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday submitted draft legislation to parliament to extend martial law and general mobilization for another 90 days, the parliament's press service said.
* Two people were killed and 17 others injured in a drone attack on the Russian city of Voronezh, regional Governor Alexander Gusev said on Monday. Gusev said on Russian social media platform MAX that the attack sparked fires at several industrial facilities, a business center, an apartment building, two summer cottage settlements, a school stadium and a garage complex.
* Hundreds of protesters returned to Praca D. Pedro IV, also known as Rossio square, in Lisbon and gathered again in Porto on Sunday afternoon, hours after police used batons and dogs to disperse housing rights encampments in both cities in the early hours of the morning.
* Iran's Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi on Sunday reiterated that the administration of the Strait of Hormuz and routes in the waterway will not be the same as they were in the past, according to the official news agency IRNA.
* Senior officials from Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and Pakistan are scheduled to attend a meeting on regional security in the Iranian capital Tehran, Deputy Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Ali Bagheri Kani said.
* Egypt's parliament on Monday approved authorizing President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi to take measures to support Saudi Arabia, the state-run MENA news agency reported.
* Libya's Government of National Unity and the Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Committee of the House of Representatives on Sunday strongly rejected recent remarks by US President Donald Trump, saying Libya's dignity and its people must not be used as material for electoral debate.
* Arab League Secretary-General Nabil Fahmy warned Sunday that the Gaza ceasefire remained fragile and called for full implementation of a UN Security Council resolution on the Palestinian territory, according to an Arab League statement.
* Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said the outcome of Israel's parliamentary election on Tuesday would make no difference to Iran.
* A total of 488 Palestinian families have been affected by an ongoing Israeli military operation in the West Bank city of Hebron since the operation began on Friday, Palestinian official sources said Monday.
* British Airways, the UK's flag carrier, has resumed flights to Israel, with a flight from London Heathrow landing at Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv on Monday.
* Singapore and Saudi Arabia plan to establish a crude oil storage arrangement at Singapore's Jurong Rock Caverns, with operations expected to begin in the second half of 2027, the two countries said on Monday.
* Algerian lawmakers on Sunday approved deploying People's National Army detachments to Niger, according to official statements from both chambers of parliament.
* An Egyptian fishing boat carrying nine sailors has been detained in Saudi Arabia's Red Sea region of Tabuk after mistakenly entering Saudi territorial waters on Oct. 16, Egypt's Foreign Ministry said Monday.
* The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) launched drone attacks on Monday against five power stations in central and eastern Sudan, cutting electricity to large areas across four states, according to an official statement.
* Saudi airstrikes hit Yemen's capital Sanaa on Monday morning as the Houthi group claimed new missile and drone attacks on targets in Saudi Arabia and southern Yemen.
* Israeli forces continued bulldozing agricultural land in Syria's southern province of Quneitra on Sunday, damaging olive groves that local farmers depend on for their livelihoods.
* Syria is preparing to release its first nationwide map identifying areas contaminated by landmines, as the country steps up efforts to address explosive remnants of war that continue to claim civilian lives, the Syrian state news agency SANA reported Monday.
* Libya's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the Government of National Unity said Sunday that it had summoned the US charge d'affaires in Libya to deliver a formal protest over "offensive remarks" directed at Libya and its people.
* Jordanian security forces arrested three gunmen who carried out an attack on a church in the southern governorate of Karak, the Public Security Directorate said Monday.
* The localisation rate of military spending in Saudi Arabia rose to 27.30 percent by the end of 2025, up from 24.89 percent in 2024, the General Authority for Military Industries (GAMI) said on Sunday.
* The Saudi-led coalition said on Monday that it has carried out a "qualitative military operation" targeting Houthi threats in Yemen, in response to repeated attacks on Saudi Arabia.
* Singapore plans to raise its statutory retirement age from 64 to 65 and its re-employment age from 69 to 70 on Jan. 1, 2029, a year ahead of the previously scheduled 2030 timeline. The plan is among six recommendations released Monday by the Tripartite Workgroup on Senior Employment.
* Mongolia is encountering major logistical barriers when assessing ecological losses from the recent massive wildfire at the Numrug Strictly Protected Area, and is exploring helicopter aerial surveys, local media reported.
* Sri Lanka's Department of Meteorology issued a red warning on Monday for strong winds and rough seas in the Bay of Bengal as Cyclonic Storm Arnab intensified, while heavy rainfall continued across several parts of the country.
* Severe winds and heavy rains battered parts of New Zealand on Monday as an active weather front moved up the country, disrupting travel and prompting road closures.
* The Nepali government has unveiled plans to expand flood early warning systems across six major river basins and lower water levels in four high-risk glacial lakes as part of efforts to strengthen disaster preparedness amid growing climate-related risks in the Himalayan region.
* Australia's National Environmental Protection Agency (National EPA) said on Monday that targeted compliance and enforcement activities over the past 12 months had delivered significant results in tackling environmental violations, including illegal wildlife trade and unlawful land clearing.
* A strong gust of wind pushed a cruise ship carrying more than 3,300 passengers and crew members into two container vessels as it departed the German North Sea port of Bremerhaven on Sunday evening, police said Monday.
* The Mexican government said Sunday it is deploying a liaison and coordination mission to several Pacific coast states as Category 1 Hurricane Vance, on the five-category Saffir-Simpson wind scale, approaches the country's western coast.
*The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has recorded nearly 10,000 confirmed Ebola cases since the outbreak began in May, as deadly attacks on health workers pose further challenges to efforts to contain the epidemic, according to health authorities and the World Health Organization (WHO).
