Trump to visit Asian nations in November
US President Donald Trump will visit Japan, South Korea, China, Vietnam and the Philippines from November 3-14. One of the objectives of Trump's Asia tour will be to "strengthen the international resolve to confront the North Korean threat and ensure the complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula," the White House said.
Switzerland revokes right of Muslim 'hate preacher' to asylum
A Libyan Muslim preacher accused of spreading hate speech at a mosque in the city of Biel has officially had his right to asylum revoked. Preacher Abu Ramadan obtained asylum in Switzerland in 1998. He was allegedly have called for the destruction of Jews, Christians, Russians and Shia Muslims.
'Over 2,300 polling stations ready for Catalan referendum'
Catalonian authorities said that over 2,300 polling stations were available for an independence referendum. The regional government unveiled for the first time their alternative white plastic ballot boxes, with the Generalitat's logo they intend using for their outlawed seccessionist referendum. Over five million residents of Catalonia are eligible to cast their votes on Sunday.
South Korea, US conduct air defence drillsSouth Korea and the US have conducted joint air drills, aimed to gain familiarity with each other's weapon systems and capabilities, in the Korean peninsula amid heightened tensions with Pyongyang. This is the first time the allies conducted short range air defence training on the Korean Peninsula.
Baghdad halts international flights to Kurdistan over referendum
The Iraqi government suspended international flights to and from the autonomous region of Kurdistan in response to the referendum. The suspension came into force after Kurdistan refused to comply with the order to hand over control of the Erbil and Suleimaniya international airports to the Iraqi federal government.
US Heath Secretary resigns amid private plane scandal
Tom Price, the Health and Human Services Secretary resigned in the midst of a scandal over his use of private planes. The scandal infuriated Trump, who viewed the controversy as a needless distraction from his agenda. Trump called Price a "very fine man" who had nonetheless made a grave mistake.
China's rising political star expelled ahead of Congress
China's ruling Communist Party expelled Sun Zhengcai, a rising political star and frontrunner to the key policy body, for serious discipline violations ahead of next month's key Congress. Sun, once seen as a frontrunner for a seat in the political inner sanctum, the Politburo Standing Committee, was unceremoniously removed as Chongqing's party boss and put under investigation.
(With inputs from agencies)