Ukraine has started withdrawing tanks and light artillery from the frontline in the eastern region of Luhansk in line with an agreement with Russian-backed separatists, Kiev's military said. 

US President Barack Obama kicked off a sales pitch on October 6 for a 12-nation Pacific Rim trade agreement, urging farmers to push their lawmakers to approve what he said would boost their sales in a fast-growing region.

Myanmar President U Thein Sein committed on October 6 to continuing the peace process with armed groups who are ready to sign the Nationwide Ceasefire Accord (NCA).

Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha on October 5 appointed the 200-member National Reform Steering Assembly (NRSA) to guide the country’s reform process.

Afghan forces asked for US air support while fighting the Taliban in Kunduz shortly before an air strike resulted in the deaths of civilians there, the American commander of international forces in Afghanistan said on October 5.

The wreckage of the Aviastar plane that was carrying ten people when losing contact with air traffic controllers three days ago was founded in Luwu district of South Sulawesi island, Indonesia on October 5. 

The United States and NATO denounced Russia on October 5 for violating Turkish airspace and Ankara threatened to respond, reporting two incursions in two days and raising the prospect of direct confrontation between the former Cold War adversaries.

The Indonesian government needs to take action against companies causing haze problem which has affected the air quality, people’s health and economies of countries in the region, said Malaysia Prime Minister Najib Razak on October 4.

Philippine Environment Secretary Ramon Paje has called for closer cooperation among member economies of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) to ensure food security and blue economy in the region.

Islamic State militants have blown up the Arch of Triumph, a major monument in the 2,000-year-old Roman city of Palmyra, Syria's antiquities chief said on October 4, after they destroyed two ancient temples at the central Syrian site in recent months.

Portugal's center-right government on October 4 won an election that was a test of its tough austerity stance, but its failure to win a majority in parliament raises the prospect of political uncertainty.

Germany needs to limit the number of refugees it takes in or even close its borders, conservative allies of German Chancellor Angela Merkel said at the weekend, as the country deals with record inflows of people fleeing from war and poverty.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declared the heavily fortified Green Zone in central Baghdad open to all citizens on October 4, part of a reform drive prompted by protests demanding greater transparency and openness.

A group of protesters, believed to be behind cyber-attacks on many Thai government agencies’ websites few days ago, has threatened to launch a fresh round of attacks unless the government abandons its single Internet gateway proposal by October 14.

(VOV) -US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said the US and Afghanistan are conducting an inquiry into the deadly bombing on October 3 of a hospital compound in the northern Afghan city of Kunduz that killed at least 19 people and wounded dozens more. 

(VOV) -Up to 24 people were killed and 61 others wounded on Saturday in two suicide car bomb attacks in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad.

Indonesian authorities on Saturday resumed searching for an Aviastar airline Twin Otter turboprop aircraft with 10 people on board that went missing on Friday during a flight on Sulawesi island.

(VOV) - Malaysia will open its doors to 3,000 Syrian migrants over the next three years to help alleviate the refugee crisis, Prime Minister Najib Razak said on October 1 at the United Nations General Assembly.

Some 70 delegates from Asian and European countries gathered at the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM)’s seminar held in Indonesia’s Bali Island from September 30 to October 2 with a focus on social dialogue to improve social protection.

A passenger plane of Aviastar Mandiri airline with 10 persons on board went missing in South Sulawesi province of Indonesia on October 2, according to Indonesian Ministry of Transportation spokesperson Julius Barata.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s new cabinet was sworn into office before President Tony Tan at the Presidential Office Istana on October 1.

A US military transport plane crashed at an airfield in Afghanistan shortly after midnight on October 2, killing all 11 people on board, the US military said, adding there were no reports of enemy fire at the time.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu used his annual United Nations address on October 1 to launch an all-out assault on the historic nuclear deal with Iran, warning that his country would never let the Islamic Republic join the atomic weapons club.

The Philippines and the US formally opened the 16th Philippine Amphibious Landing Exercise (PHIBLEX) in Taguig city, Manila.

(VOV) -ASEAN and the UN have reiterated their partnership to work towards the realisation of the ASEAN Community and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Russia launched air strikes in Syria on September 30 in its biggest Middle East intervention in decades, plunging the four-year-old civil war into a volatile new phase as President Vladimir Putin moved forcefully to stake out influence in the unstable region.

Afghan officials said government troops had recaptured much of the strategic northern city of Kunduz from Taliban insurgents early on October 1, three days after losing control of the provincial capital in an embarrassing defeat for Kabul and its US allies.

Trade ministers from 12 Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) member countries convened a meeting in the city of Atlanta, Georgia, the US, on September 30 in an effort to resolve key issues of the world’s largest free trade deal.

Singapore has detained two men who intended to travel to Syria to join the self-claimed Islamic State group (IS), according to the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Ceasefire talks between the Myanmar government and armed ethnic rebel groups in Chiang Mai, northern Thailand, have collapsed after the government declined three factions in the Kobang border area to join the deal.