The Republic of Korea (RoK)'s President Park Geun-hye and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe held their first formal bilateral talks on November 2 since both leaders took office, seeking to move beyond a bitter wartime history that has plagued ties between two of Washington's key Asian allies.

Russian's transport minister and a team of high-level investigators has arrived in Cairo to help Egyptian authorities determine what caused a Russian airliner to crash in the Sinai Peninsula killing all 224 people on board.

A Russian airliner carrying 224 passengers crashed into a mountainous area of Egypt's Sinai peninsula on Saturday shortly after losing radar contact near cruising altitude, killing all aboard.

U.S.-backed Syrian rebel alliance on October 31 announced a fresh offensive against Islamic State in the northeast province of Hasaka, a day after the United States said it would send special forces to advise insurgents fighting the jihadists.

The United States will deploy dozens of special operations troops to northern Syria from next month to advise opposition forces in their fight against Islamic State, a major policy shift for President Barack Obama and a step he has long resisted to avoid getting dragged into another war in the Middle East.

The US and Chinese navies held high-level talks on October 29 after a US warship challenged China's territorial assertions in South China Sea, and a US official said they agreed to maintain dialogue and follow protocols to avoid clashes.

Washington stuck to its demand on October 29 that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad leave power, ahead of peace talks which will include Assad's main ally Iran for the first time, reflecting his stronger position since Russia joined the war on his side.

Central African Republic will hold presidential and parliamentary elections on December 13, the electoral commission said on October 28, reviving delayed efforts to restore democracy in a country rocked by fighting since 2013.

The Greek coastguard rescued 242 migrants when their wooden boat sank north of the island of Lesbos on October 28, but at least three drowned, including two small boys, authorities said.

Talks between Russia and the United States may produce a chance of peace in Syria, Kofi Annan, the former UN secretary-general who tried unsuccessfully to forge a deal to end the war in 2012, said on October 27.