Georgians are voting today in the second round of local elections to choose Mayors and local Councillors in a number of key cities where the first round of voting, held on 2 October was inconclusive. The total number of voters eligible to vote in the second round is 2,088,722 - around half of which in the capital, Tbilisi. Georgians appear to be tired of the non stop polorised politics that has dominated public life in recent years, but it is unlikely that the elections will bring a closure to the huge divide within Georgian society.

EU High Representative Josep Borrell said in Brussels on Thursday (28 October) that in Moldova, the EU sees attempts by Gazprom to put political pressure in return to lower the gas prices. He said he had agreed with the Moldovan Prime Minister on the importance of strengthening resilience against any potential efforts by third parties to use energy as a geopolitical weapon. "Gas is a commodity. It has been bought and sold, sold and bought but it cannot be used as a geopolitical weapon", Borrell stated.

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.