President Yoon Suk Yeol (right) meets with cadets at the Air Force Academy in Seoul on October 25. (Source: Yonhap)

Europe

* Poland has set a deadline to close the Russian Consulate General in the Central European city of Poznan until midnight on November 30, according to Russian Ambassador to Warsaw Sergei Andreev.

On October 22, the Polish Foreign Ministry decided to close the Russian diplomatic mission and expel its staff, accusing it of “sabotage.” Moscow reacted angrily to Warsaw’s move and warned of “painful retaliation.” (Sputnik)

* Norway spends more than $360 million to buy American AIM-120C-8 AMRAAM air defense missiles . Defense Minister Bjoern Arild Gram stated: "With more modern missiles, the Norwegian Armed Forces will be better able to protect the country against air attacks." (Reuters)

* Lithuania's parliamentary elections took place on October 27, with the Social Democratic Party winning 52 of the 141 seats. The ruling Christian Democratic-Fatherland Union came in second with 28 seats. The new left-wing populist party Zarya Nemunas came in third with 20 seats. (AP)

* In the Bulgarian parliamentary election held on October 27, the center-right GERB party of former Prime Minister Boyko Borissov received 26.5% of the votes, nearly 12% higher than the pro-Western reform bloc led by the We Continue Change party.

GERB is likely to win but will have to find a coalition partner to form a government. The far-right Vazrazhdane party came in third place with 13.5 percent of the vote. At least seven other parties also appear to have won seats in the 240-seat parliament. (Reuters)

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Asia-Pacific

* South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol has ordered officials to be fully prepared to deal with risks and uncertainties related to ongoing conflicts, amid reports that North Korean troops will be deployed alongside Russian troops in Ukraine and tensions in the Middle East have escalated. (Yonhap)

* South Korea has approved plans to produce K2 battle tanks using a domestic transmission system, accelerate the development and deployment of a low-altitude missile defense system two years ahead of schedule, by 2033, and approve plans to purchase additional PAC-3 missiles and upgrade PAC-2 launchers to make them compatible by 2031. (Yonhap)

* A high-level South Korean delegation will share information about North Korea's troop deployment to Russia with the North Atlantic Council , the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's (NATO) main decision-making body, on October 28. (Yonhap)

* Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico will pay an official visit to China from October 31 to November 5, according to Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian. (Reuters)

* The Japanese House of Representatives election ended on October 27 with the ruling coalition of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and the Komeito Party officially losing its majority, winning only 215 out of 465 seats. The opposition Constitutional Democratic Party (CDPJ) achieved great success, winning 148 seats. (Kyodo)

* Uzbekistan announced the results of the parliamentary elections held on October 27, according to which the Liberal Democratic Party won 64 out of 150 seats. The National Democratic Restoration Party won 29 seats, the Social Democratic Justice Party won 21 seats, the People's Democratic Party won 20 seats and the Environmental Party won 16 seats. (AP)

* Japan, China and South Korea agreed to make efforts to hold a foreign ministers' meeting and summit "at the earliest possible appropriate time" after a meeting of officials from the three countries on October 28. (Kyodo)

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Middle East-Africa

* Russia is seeking to ease tensions in the Middle East , Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said when asked about the consequences of Israel's air strikes on Iran. He said Moscow was in contact with all sides in the conflict. (Reuters)

* Israel raided the Kamal Adwan hospital in Gaza and arrested about 100 suspected Hamas militants, the military said. Inside the hospital and surrounding area, troops found and seized weapons, money and intelligence documents. (Reuters)

* Israel has ordered an emergency evacuation of parts of the southern Lebanese city of Tyre, warning it would attack Hezbollah targets there. (AFP)

* Iran has not adjusted its nuclear policy after Israel's attack on October 26 and "absolutely does not support the militarization of its nuclear program." (Reuters)

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America

* The name of former independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on the ballot in the battleground states of Michigan and Wisconsin is raising concerns that he could inadvertently take away important votes for his favored candidate, former US President Donald Trump, on Election Day on November 5.

“It is unprecedented and undemocratic for Kennedy Jr. to manipulate the electoral system by registering to give Trump an advantage and then withdrawing his name from the ballot when he felt it would harm Trump’s standing,” said Adrienne Watson, counsel to the Democratic National Committee.

Ironically, the laws in states like Michigan and Wisconsin do not allow candidates to withdraw their names from the ballot, and Mr. Kennedy's actions could have unintended negative consequences for Mr. Trump, and could even help Vice President Kamala Harris win narrowly in the two Midwestern states. (The Hill)