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.

A Russian charter plane carrying 224 people crashed in a mountainous part of Egypt's Sinai Peninsula on October 31, killing all on board, Egyptian officials said.

Kem Sokha, who has just been removed from the position of the First Vice President of the Cambodian National Assembly, said on October 30 that his Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) would not appoint a new nominee for the vacant position.

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.

(VOV) - Chinese Premier Li Keqiang arrived in Seoul on October 31 for a three-way summit with the Republic of Korea and Japan.

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.

Leaders from a number of countries in Asia-Pacific have raised their voices to affirm their countries’ respect for the right of aviation and navigation freedom in the East Sea.

The Netherlands-based Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) on October 29 stated that it has jurisdiction over a case filed by the Philippines contesting China’s claims to disputed areas in the East Sea.

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.

Environment ministers from the ASEAN member states reviewed their cooperation in environment sustainability within the framework of the Comprehensive Plan for the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community (ASCC) during their 13th meeting in Hanoi from October 26-30.

(VOV) - The 13th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Environment (AMME-13) and related meetings are taking place in Hanoi. The meeting, held every 3 years, is is an important event within the framework of ASEAN cooperation on the environment. 

The 27th ASEAN Summit will officially kick off in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on November 21, with a schedule for adopting the Kuala Lumpur Declaration on setting up the ASEAN Community and on the ASEAN Community Vision to 2025.

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.

(VOV) - The EU recently approved a 17-point plan to address the influx of migrants into European countries through the Balkan region. It is an attempt to improve migration management and slow down the biggest wave of migration since World War 2.

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.

Thailand and Laos are ready to sign an agreement on cooperation in maintaining border security and preventing human trafficking, said Thai Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai on October 26.

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.

A US guided-missile destroyer sailed close to one of China's man-made islands in the East Sea on October 27, drawing an angry rebuke from Beijing, which said it had tracked and warned the ship and called in the US ambassador to protest.

Defence ministers from ten ASEAN member states and their partners will talk over measures to boost security and defence cooperation for regional peace, sustainability and development during the ASEAN Defence Ministers Meeting (ADMM) Retreat and the ADMM Plus which are slated for early next month.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo said that his country is willing to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) in his talks with US President Barrack Obama in the White House on October 26 (local time).

Thousands of Cambodians gathered in front of the National Assembly (NA) on October 26 to call on the NA’s First Vice President Kem Sokha to resign.

ASEAN and the European Union (EU) agreed to intensify human rights cooperation and policy dialogues at a series of events during an ASEAN delegation’s visit to Belgium’s Brussels from October 19 to 25.

Poland's eurosceptic opposition conservatives, the Law and Justice party (PiS), won October 25's general election, preliminary official results showed on October 26, as the country shifted towards nationalism and left-leaning economics.

Greece said on October 26 the European Union had offered to pay the costs of accommodating 20,000 more migrants in temporary camps on its islands as the bloc struggles to improve its management of the flow of refugees across Europe.

About 100 people were injured on October 25 when a ferry returning from Macau to Hong Kong collided with an unknown object, a police department official said.

European leaders agreed to cooperate to manage migrants crossing the Balkans but offered no quick fix to a crisis that threatens to take more lives as winter sets in and to set Europe's nations against one another.

European leaders traded threats and reprimands on October 24 as thousands more migrants and refugees streamed into the Balkans on the eve of European Union talks aimed at agreeing on urgent action to tackle the crisis.

The United States on October 24 proposed steps, including 24-hour video surveillance, to end weeks of violence over a Jerusalem site holy to Muslims and Jews.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the Kremlin wanted Syria to prepare for parliamentary and presidential elections, as Moscow intensified its drive to convert its increased clout with Damascus into a political settlement.