* The Bulgarian National Assembly elected a new speaker on Wednesday, a day after the ruling coalition decided to rotate the head of the institution every 10 months. Raya Nazaryan, a member of the parliamentary group of GERB-UDF, replaced Nataliya Kiselova from BSP-United Left at the position, which is officially called President of the National Assembly.
* Members of the Malawian Parliament on Wednesday elected Sameer Suleman of the governing Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) as speaker of the National Assembly. Suleman, who was nominated by the DPP leader and president of the country, Peter Mutharika, won with 134 votes against his Malawi Congress Party (MCP) opponent Peter Dimba, who got 85 votes.
* Iraq's Independent High Electoral Commission said Wednesday it has designated more than 800 polling centers, including about 4,500 polling booths, for special voting ahead of the Nov. 11 parliamentary election.
* The Bangladeshi Chief Adviser's office has announced that the country's Election Commission could declare the date for the upcoming national election by the first week of December this year.
* The UN General Assembly (UNGA) adopted a draft resolution on Wednesday urging the United States to end its economic, commercial and financial embargo against Cuba. The draft resolution was passed by a vote of 165 in favor, seven against and 12 abstentions.
* Pakistan has agreed to resume the dialogue process with the Afghan Taliban in Istanbul, Türkiye, following a request from the Afghan Taliban and the host country, Pakistani security sources told Xinhua on Thursday.
* U.S. President Donald Trump said in Gyeongju, about 330 km southeast of the Republic of Korea capital Seoul, on Wednesday that the United States has reached a deal on trade with the RoK, according to Yonhap news agency.
* Republic of Korean President Lee Jae-myung and visiting U.S. President Donald Trump held talks in Busan on Wednesday on bilateral ties. Lee said that the RoK will raise its defense budget and develop its defense industry to improve its defense strength so as to ease U.S. defense expenditures in their defense alliance, according to a statement from the RoK presidential office.
* China's Ministry of Commerce on Thursday unveiled the outcomes achieved by Chinese and U.S. delegations during their recent economic and trade talks in Kuala Lumpur. The U.S. side will cancel the 10-percent so-called "fentanyl tariffs" and suspend, for an additional year, the 24-percent reciprocal tariffs levied on Chinese goods, including goods from the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the Macao Special Administrative Region, according to a spokesperson of the ministry.
* Russian President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday that Russians are not consuming enough fish and seafood, calling for improved processing and transportation to make seafood more accessible and affordable across the country.
* Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum on Wednesday called for improved maritime security coordination with the United States after recent U.S. strikes on suspected drug boats in international waters near the port of Acapulco.
* Lithuania's government decided on Wednesday to close the country's border with Belarus for one month, while allowing certain exceptions, the Baltic News Service (BNS) reported.
* Speaking at the 2025 Paris Peace Forum on Wednesday, French President Emmanuel Macron pledged to intensify efforts to curb methane emissions and accelerate the phase-out of coal, with financial support for affected countries, as the world marks the 10th anniversary of the Paris Agreement.
* Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said in Bankok on Wednesday that the country plans to hold a multilateral meeting to strengthen regional cooperation on combating cybercrime.
* The United Nations (UN) has allocated 4 million USD apiece for Haiti and Cuba to cope with Hurricane Melissa, a spokesperson said Wednesday.
* A total of 305 Afghan prisoners were released from Pakistani jails over the past week and have safely returned to Afghanistan, the Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation announced on Thursday.
* Germany and Jordan on Wednesday called for full compliance with the current Gaza truce and efforts towards a lasting peace between Palestine and Israel based on a two-state solution, the Jordanian foreign ministry said.
* At least 100 Palestinians were killed in Israeli attacks across the Gaza Strip from late Tuesday to Wednesday, marking the most intense escalation since the ceasefire agreement took effect on October 10.
* Israel carried out a new airstrike in the northern Gaza Strip on Wednesday evening, targeting what it described as militant sites.
* Hamas said in a press statement on Wednesday it is committed to the ceasefire agreement with Israel, and accused Israel of violating it. The statement came as Israel and Hamas have been trading blame for ceasefire violations in recent days.
* Tanzanian police on Wednesday announced the imposition of a curfew in the port city of Dar es Salaam following protests that resulted in the destruction of property on the general election day.
* At least 119 people were killed in a massive police operation targeting an organized criminal ring in Brazil's second largest city Rio de Janeiro, authorities said Wednesday.
* Continued overreliance on fossil fuels and failure to adapt to a heating world are already having a devastating toll on human health, according to a global report released Wednesday by the World Health Organization (WHO).
* UN humanitarians said on Tuesday they join with their partners in Sudan to warn of escalating violence in besieged El Fasher and to condemn attacks on civilians.
* Economic growth in the APEC region is projected at 3.1 percent in 2025, slightly higher than earlier estimates, according to the latest APEC Regional Trends Analysis. The upgraded forecast was supported by resilient trade and strong demand for high-tech goods, according to the report.
* Russia's GDP grew by 0.9 percent year-on-year in September 2025, following August's 0.4 percent expansion, the Ministry of Economic Development said in a Wednesday report. According to the ministry, Russia's GDP rose by 0.6 percent in the third quarter of 2025. It also estimates that GDP growth reached 1 percent in the first nine months of 2025.
* Inflation in Laos continued a downward trend in October, dropping to 4 percent from 4.5 percent in September, official data showed on Wednesday. The highest price rise was recorded in goods and services category, which stood at 24.4 percent.
* The Bank of Canada on Wednesday lowered its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to 2.25 percent, citing ongoing economic weakness caused by trade conflicts with the United States.
* Myanmar exported 190,567 tons of fishery products from April to September, earning about 279 million USD, according to the Department of Fisheries on Wednesday.
* Indonesia will need an estimated 2,900 trillion rupiah (about 175 billion USD) in investment over the next 10 years to meet its electricity supply needs, with the majority expected to come from the private sector, the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) said on Wednesday.
* Syrian interim leader Ahmed al-Sharaa said on Wednesday in Riyadh that his country has secured 28 billion USD in investment within six months.
* New Zealand's resident population grew 0.7 percent to 5.3 million in the year ending in June 2025, with population growth slowing across all 16 regions, Stats NZ said Wednesday.
