Israel elections, polls: Netanyahu one seat away from majority

Today's headlines: 72 dead in the Philippines in tropical storm; Nearly 90% of Taiwanese against Xi Jinping's recent words on reunification; Japan wants to buy attack missiles from the US; India puts Twitter in its sights after Elon Musk's takeover;  Armenia opens to border dialogue with Azerbaijan.

ISRAEL

Former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is one seat away from having a majority in next week's general election, his fifth in less than four years. The latest polls reveal this. Predictions see his Likud gaining 60 seats in coalition with three other parties; 53 would be won by the anti-Netanyahu bloc and four by the Hadash-Ta'al Arab list.

PHILIPPINES

So far 72 people have died in the country due to the passage of tropical storm Nalgae. The south-eastern areas were mainly affected, with floods and landslides. Maguindanao is the province with the most victims (67).

TAIWAN

Nearly 90% of Taiwanese reject Xi Jinping's statement that China will never renounce the use of force to retake the island. More than 79% of the respondents in the survey are against the 'one country, two systems' formula proposed by Beijing (and already used for Hong Kong and Macao).

JAPAN 

Tokyo is considering buying Tomahawk cruise missiles from the US. They would serve to strengthen the country's ability to strike enemy bases in the event of a response to an attack (from China or North Korea). Japan's pacifist Constitution restricts the use of offensive weapons.

INDIA

As already stated by the European Union for its own legislation, the Indian government expects that after the Elon Musk takeover Twitter will comply with the new national rules on web platforms. The Modi administration has already asked the well-known social network to take measures against accounts that praise an independent Sikh state.

RUSSIA

The Chief Rabbi of Russia, Berl Lazar, criticised the article by Security Council Deputy Secretary Aleksej Pavlov in Argumenty i Fakty, in which he raged against the 'neo-pagan cults' of Ukraine, asking for official clarification. The list also includes the Chabad-Lubavitch Chassidic movement, which "offends the majority of the Jews of Russia".

ARMENIA-AZERBAIGIAN

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pašinyan confirmed his participation in the meeting in Soči on 31 October with Azerbaijani President Aliyev, at Putin's invitation. During the course of the year, the two have met other times with EU mediation. The Azerbaijani leader's confirmation is awaited to try to resolve long-standing border issues between Yerevan and Baku.

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