• France announces it is likely to withdraw some of its troops from Afghanistan in 2011. (CNN)
• Somali group Al-Shabaab publicly executes two teenage girls, claiming they were spies. (AFP)

• Chinese industrial profits rose 53.5 percent year on year in the first nine months of 2010, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said. (People Daily)
• Nissan recalls 2.1 million vehicles worldwide due to an ignition problem. (BBC)
• American International Group says that if chief executive Robert Benmosche needs to step aside for treatment of his cancer, the chairman of the board, Steve Miller, will serve as interim CEO "for as long as it takes to identify" a permanent replacement. (AIG Release)

• Indonesia
  • The death toll from the recent eruption of Mount Merapi in Indonesia rises to 32 as it erupts again. (CNN), (BBC)
  • The death toll from the tsunami rises to at least 343. (CBC) (Jakarta Globe)
• Two volcanoes erupt on Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula, Klyuchevskaya Sopka and Shiveluch, forcing flights to divert and spewing volcanic ash over the nearby town of Ust-Kamchatsk. (AP)

• The 17^th ASEAN Summit opens in Hanoi, Vietnam. (Bangkok Post) (Xinhua)
• China cancels a meeting with Japan and South Korea amid a dispute over the use of rare earth metals. (Mainichi Daily News) (Straits Times)

• Verizon will pay a $25 million settlement to the U.S. Treasury for overcharging 15 million cellphone customers. (Reuters)

• China's top legislature adopts a decision to appoint Vice President Xi Jinping as vice chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC) of the People's Republic of China. (Xinhua)
• Kenya's internal security minister George Saitoti is named as acting foreign minister following the resignation of Moses Wetangula amid an embassy property scandal. (Kenya Broadcasting Corporation) (Reuters)
• The Croatian government survives a motion of no confidence over economic problems and corruption. (Reuters) (Bloomberg)
• Burma
  • Burmese authorities announce that its leader General Than Shwe will not be standing in the upcoming general election. (Al Jazeera)
  • Foreign Minister Nyan Win indicates at an ASEAN summit that Aung San Suu Kyi may be freed following the elections on November 7. (AFP) (Taiwan News)
• Guinea sets November 7 as the new date for the presidential run-off. (Reuters) (Al Jazeera)
• Tens of thousands of Argentinians pay tribute to the former President of Argentina Néstor Kirchner at a wake at the Presidential Palace. (Reuters)

• China's Tianhe-1 overtakes Nebule to regain top spot as the world's fastest supercomputer. (China Daily) (BBC)

• Sandy Alderson is chosen as the new general manager of the New York Mets. (AP)