Qatar representative: The Palestinian Authority withdrew from the agreement on financing Qatar for the reconstruction of Gaza

The US State Department announced that the US Special Representative for North Korea will travel to Tokyo next week to discuss disarmament of the Korean Peninsula and other issues with Japanese and South Korean officials.

France raises bird flu alert level after detecting a severe strain of the virus among poultry in European countries, including Belgium and Luxembourg

According to the Tass news agency, John Sullivan, the US ambassador to Moscow, was summoned to the Russian Foreign Ministry. Sullivan is said to have been at the State Department for about 20 minutes, but the reason for his summons has not been announced. A diplomatic source told Tass that the move was due to "US interference in the Russian election"

Bahrain Gulf Airlines announced that for the first time, its direct flights to Tel Aviv, Israel, will start on October 29 and will have two flights a week to this city. These flights are operated within the framework of agreements between Bahrain and Israel

Lebanese President Michel Aoun signs decree on formation of new Lebanese government on Friday in the presence of Prime Minister-elect Najib Mikati Former Lebanese Prime Minister Hassan Diab resigned 13 months ago, after which Mustafa Adib and Saad Hariri failed to form a government.