* The Indonesian police have foiled plots of IS-linked group to launch suicide bombing attacks during the inauguration of President Joko Widodo on Sunday, a police officer said on Tuesday (October 15).
* Typhoon Hagibis, which swept across central and eastern Japan on Saturday and Sunday (October 12-13), has claimed at least 74 lives in Japan as of Tuesday as rescuers raced against the clock to locate more than 12 missing people. In addition, 218 others were injured during the weekend storm, according to the latest NHK tally.
* Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has stressed deepening reform and opening-up to facilitate steady economic growth and improve people's livelihood continuously.
* Chinese President Xi Jinping and French President Emmanuel Macron agreed in a phone conversation Tuesday to join hands to uphold multilateralism and tackle global challenges.
* Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on late Tuesday rejected the offer of his US counterpart Donald Trump for a cease-fire with the Syrian Kurdish fighters, but agreed to keep in dialogue with Washington.
* Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan held an official meeting with visiting Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday over expansion of bilateral relations.
* An environmental protest body, known as Extinction Rebellion, on Tuesday continued demonstrations in central London despite police warnings they will be arrested if their action does not stop immediately.
*The trade volume between Egypt and the European Union (EU) surpassed EUR27 billion (about US$29.78 billion) in 2018, Egyptian Planning Minister Hala al-Saeed said on Tuesday.
* US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo spoke over phone with Iraqi President Barham Salih about the ongoing Turkish military operations in northeastern Syria and the situation in Iraq, said the US State Department on Tuesday.
* The United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday endorsed the political declaration on sustainable development adopted by world leaders during this year's General Debate.
* China and the United States hold the same position on reaching an economic and trade deal, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Tuesday.
* The Republic of Korea's central bank on Wednesday cut its policy rate to a record low, after lowering it by 25 basis points three months earlier. Bank of Korea (BOK) Governor Lee Ju-yeol and six other policy board members decided to lower the benchmark 7-day repurchase rate from 1.50 percent to an all-time low of 1.25 percent.
* The US and Italian embassies in Libya on Tuesday condemned an airstrike that hit a house in the capital Tripoli on Monday, killing three children.
* Romanian President Klaus Iohannis on Tuesday appointed Ludovic Orban, leader of the main opposition National Liberal Party, as prime minister, after the cabinet led by the Social Democratic Party collapsed in a no-confidence vote on Thursday.
* Mozambique's National Elections Commission (CNE) said Tuesday the voting process of the general elections started smoothly, and presidential candidates called on all players to orderly participate in the democratic process. The October 15 general election, the first contest without a historic opposition rival and the first time to elect provincial governors in the history of the southeast African country, has four presidential candidates and 26 parties competing for legislatures and provinces.
* Iraqi President Barham Salih on Tuesday called for a national dialogue to promote reform demanded by the Iraqi people, asserting the urgent need to amend the election law.
* Uzbekistan has amended some government regulations to allow a foreign citizen who invests US$3 million in Uzbek economy to get a 10-year residence permit, the country's Justice Ministry said Tuesday. Previously, the residence permit for foreign investors was issued for 5 years, the ministry said.
* Yemen's Houthi rebels on Tuesday claimed that the Saudi-led coalition has launched "more than 42 airstrikes" on two northern provinces and escalated border attacks over the past 24 hours, accusing the coalition of pushing toward "military escalation."
* The International Organization for Migration (IOM) on Tuesday said it had deported 162 illegal Nigerian immigrants voluntarily from Libya to their country.
