* The APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) on Wednesday released a report calling for the sustainable development of energy infrastructure to power the drastic growth of the digital economy and data centers.
* Pakistan's Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar said Wednesday that the latest round of Pakistan-Afghanistan dialogue held in Istanbul, Türkiye, "failed to bring about any workable solution."
* Tanzanians have begun voting in the country's general elections, with polls opening across the nation on Wednesday morning. Up for election are the president, parliament, and local councils for a five-year term, with 17 parties fielding presidential candidates and 18 contesting parliamentary and local seats.
* As agreed between China and the United States, President Xi Jinping will meet with President Donald Trump in Busan, the Republic of Korea (ROK), on Oct. 30 local time to exchange views on bilateral relations and issues of mutual interest, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson announced on Wednesday.
* Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) Choe Son Hui discussed bilateral cooperation and strengthening ties, the Kremlin said on Tuesday.
* Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has met his Belarusian counterpart Maxim Ryzhenkov in Minsk, agreeing to coordinate foreign policy efforts against sanctions and legal aggression from the "collective West."
* Kazakhstan's Energy Ministry and Foreign Affairs Ministry are working together to address the implications of U.S. sanctions recently imposed on Russia's Lukoil energy corporation, the Kazinform news agency reported Tuesday, citing Kazakhstan's Deputy Energy Minister Sanzhar Zharkeshov.
* Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic discussed the prospects for further strengthening practical cooperation between Uzbekistan and Serbia, said the press service of the Uzbek president on Tuesday.
* The Missile Administration of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on Tuesday test-fired sea-to-surface strategic cruise missiles in the western waters off the Korean Peninsula, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported Wednesday.
* The U.S. military destroyed four vessels allegedly transporting narcotics in the eastern Pacific Ocean on Monday, killing 14 people and leaving one survivor, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Tuesday.
* Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum on Tuesday voiced opposition to recent U.S. attacks on suspected drug trafficking vessels in international waters and confirmed the launch of a rescue operation for a survivor.
* Ukraine needs to import an additional 4 billion cubic meters of natural gas to smoothly run through the cold heating season, the Interfax-Ukraine news agency reported on Tuesday, citing a senior official.
* The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) on Tuesday released its 2025 nationally determined contributions (NDCs) synthesis report, showing improved quality, credibility and economic coverage. Released ahead of COP30 in Brazil next month, the report covers national climate plans formally submitted in the NDC registry between Jan. 1, 2024 and Sept. 30, 2025.
* Indonesia expects to operate its first nuclear power plant by 2032 as part of efforts to achieve net zero emissions by 2060, according to Deputy Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Yuliot.
* The second prototype of Russia's MC-21 medium-haul aircraft with home-made components has completed a test flight, the Russian Industry and Trade Ministry said on Tuesday. The ministry said the flight tested the operation of new domestic systems and PD-14 engines.
* Russian cosmonauts on Tuesday installed scientific equipment on the outer surface of the International Space Station (ISS) during their second spacewalk this year, Russia's state space corporation Roscosmos said.
* The Israeli army launched attacks on Gaza City on Tuesday, according to Palestinian security and eyewitness sources. Earlier in the day, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had instructed the military to carry out "immediate and powerful" strikes in Gaza, following what Israel said were violations of the ceasefire by Hamas.
* Seven Palestinians, including children and an infant, were killed and four others injured on Tuesday evening in Israeli airstrikes across the Gaza Strip despite a declared ceasefire, the Palestinian Civil Defense said.
* A series of security incidents, including a grenade blast and mortar fire, struck Syria's coastal and southern regions late Tuesday, the state news agency SANA and private Syria TV reported.
* The Iraqi National Security Service (INSS) announced Tuesday the arrest of an Islamic State (IS) operative in the Iraqi capital Baghdad, who was involved in multiple deadly armed attacks targeting security forces.
* Sudan on Tuesday declared two senior officials of the UN World Food Programme (WFP) personae non gratae and ordered them to leave the country within 72 hours, the official SUNA news agency reported.
* At least 64 people were killed and 81 were arrested Tuesday in a large security operation against the Comando Vermelho criminal group in the Complexo do Alemao and Penha favelas in Rio de Janeiro, official sources said.
* A total of 18 migrants were killed, 92 rescued and 18 more missing after their boat capsized off Libya's western city of Zawiya early Tuesday morning, Libya's Ambulance and Emergency Service said.
* The Philippines has lifted its temporary import ban on wild and domestic birds from Argentina, Romania, and Turkiye, following the containment of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in those countries, the country's Department of Agriculture said Tuesday.
* The Asian Development Bank (ADB) announced on Wednesday that it has approved a 460-million-U.S.-dollar results-based loan to modernize rural power infrastructure, promote distributed renewable energy generation, and improve agricultural productivity by providing farmers with reliable daytime solar electricity for irrigation in the state of Maharashtra, India.
* The Green Climate Fund (GCF) on Wednesday approved 250 million USD for Glaciers to Farms - a flagship adaptation program led by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to build resilient water and agriculture systems for vulnerable communities in glacier-dependent regions of Central Asia, the South Caucasus, and Pakistan, the multilateral development bank said.
* China created a total of 10.57 million new urban jobs in the first 9 months of 2025, achieving 88 percent of its annual target, official data showed on Wednesday.
* India's factory activity growth, determined by the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), stood at 4 percent in September, the same as in August, government data showed Tuesday.
* Scheduled banks in Pakistan increased their investments in government securities by more than 5.8 trillion rupees (about 20.64 billion USD) during the first nine months of 2025, reflecting both their continued preference for risk-free assets and the government's rising financing needs, official data showed Wednesday.
* Sri Lanka's economy is projected to expand by 3.1 percent in 2026, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said at a recent press conference.
* Bangladesh's trade deficit expanded 7.41 percent year-on-year in the July-August period of the current 2025-26 fiscal year, reaching almost three billion USD, the latest central bank figures showed.
* Australia's quarterly rate of inflation hit a two-year high in the three months to the end of September, according to official data released on Wednesday. The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) said that the consumer price index (CPI) rose by 1.3 percent in the third quarter of 2025, spanning from the start of July through the end of September.
* Indonesia's palm oil industry maintained strong growth through August 2025, with both production and export value rising steadily, the Indonesian Palm Oil Producers Association (GAPKI) said on Tuesday.
* Hurricane Melissa made landfall Tuesday morning on the Caribbean island of Jamaica as a powerful category 5 storm, with maximum sustained winds of up to 295 kilometers per hour, said the U.S. National Hurricane Center.
* The Beijing meteorological service of China has issued a yellow fog warning for several districts on Wednesday morning, with visibility in some areas falling below 500 meters, posing risks to transportation and public safety.
