More than 21 million people have already cast their ballots in the US election as of Friday, using various early voting options, with just over two weeks left until the official election day. The data from the Elections Project would mean that 15.7% of the total votes counted in the 2016 general election have already been cast this time around.

Polls opened in New Zealand on Saturday morning as voters cast ballots in the country's delayed general elections. Opinion polls ahead of the vote have consistently shown the ruling Labour Party, led by Jacinda Ardern, likely to be re-elected for a second term.

The Israeli Knesset approved on Thursday the US-brokered normalisation deal with the United Arab Emirates with an overwhelming majority, all but ensuring that it will be ratified in the near future. 80 lawmakers voted in favour of the agreement, including many from the opposition.

A clinical trial reportedly found that treatment with remdesivir had no impact on survival in patients with the coronavirus, according to an unpublished study viewed by the FT.

The US President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden held rival televised town halls on Thursday, forcing voters to choose who to watch after the second presidential debate was cancelled, news wires reported. Both candidates were questioned on aspects of the coronavirus pandemic, which has become a key issue during the campaign and shows the differences and disagreements between them.

In the final days of campaigning before New Zealand holds an election on Saturday, PМ Jacinda Ardern, 40, is being greeted like a rock star, AP reported.

Moscow does not see prospects for extending the new START arms control treaty with Washington, but plans to continue talks nonetheless, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday.

A first round of talks between Lebanon and Israel on the demarcation of their maritime border ended on Wednesday with a new meeting scheduled for 28 October, UN and army sources said.

Russia’s foreign minister Sergey Lavrov on Tuesday warned that Moscow could freeze its contacts with the EU in response to its sanctions over the poisoning of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, news wires reported. The tough statement comes a day after the EU foreign ministers agreed to impose sanctions on Russian officials and organizations blamed for Navalny’s poisoning with a Soviet-era nerve agent Novichok.

The World Bank announced on Tuesday that it approved $12bn for developing countries to finance the purchase and distribution of Covid-19 vaccines, tests and treatment. The financing "aims to support vaccination of up to a billion people," the bank said in a statement.