The political situation in Georgia had been building up to a crisis for some time, and the situation became more tense following the return to the country of former president Mikheil Saakashvili, who had earlier been sentenced to several terms of imprisonment for crimes committed during his term of office. Saakashvili was duly arrested and has since gone on hunger strike.

Uzbek president Shovkat Mirzyoyev, re-elected for a second term on Sunday said there is no going back for his country. However it is not clear yet if Uzbekistan is slowly but surely moving out of its autocratic past into a pluralistic political process, because there are contradictory signs.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi expressed Egypt's desire to reach a "binding, balanced agreement [...] without further delay" with Ethiopia, to end the long-lasting dispute on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).

Sudan’s military seized power Monday, dissolving the transitional government hours after troops arrested the prime minister. Thousands of people flooded into the streets to protest the coup which undermines efforts towards a democratic government.

Kuwait’s emir Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmad al-Sabah has initiated an amnesty process to pardon political dissidents and critics as part of wider political reforms in the country. The amnesty decision is expected to include the self-exiled parliamentarians who fled imprisonment after taking part in the 2011 storming of the parliament over alleged corruption and mismanagement by the government.

Russian and Chinese warships conducted the first ever joint patrol in the western part of the Pacific Ocean on October 17-23, Russia’s Defence Ministry reported on Saturday.

On Thursday (21 October), Libya's transitional government hosted various foreign officials in Tripoli to garner support for the transition process.  Around 30 delegations participated in the Libya Stabilization Conference including those representing the United Nations, European Union, African Union and the Arab League.