6. Sweden elects right-wing PM backed for first time by far-right
• Sweden`s parliament on October 18, 2022 narrowly elected conservative leader Ulf Kristersson as prime minister, leading the country`s first government to be shored up by the far right Sweden Democrats.
• Kristersson, 58, was elected by a wafer-thin majority of three votes, after announcing a deal on Friday to form a governing coalition comprising his Moderate Party, the Christian Democrats and the Liberals.
• The government will be supported in parliament by its far-right ally, the anti-immigration, nationalist Sweden Democrats.
• `I am thankful and glad for the trust I have received from parliament and also considerably humble before the tasks ahead of us, Kristersson told a press conference following Monday`s vote. He is expected to present his new government on Tuesday
7. Sri Lankan author Karunatilaka wins Booker Prize
• Sri Lankan author Shehan Karunatilaka won the 2022 Booker Prize for fiction at a London ceremony on October 17, 2022 for his work, The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida, about a murdered journalist.
• `My hope for Seven Moons is this… that in the not-so-distant future… that it is read in a Sri Lanka that has understood that these ideas of corruption and race-baiting and cronyism have not worked and will never work.
• The 47-year-old author won international recognition with his 2010 debut novel, Chinaman: The Legend of Pradeep Mathew
8. US officials not invited to Saudi forum
• US government officials have not been invited to a Saudi investment conference planned for later this month, its organiser told AFP on October 17, 2022, saying he did not want the gathering `to become a political platform`.
• The decision not to invite American officials, a departure from previous years, comes as tensions rise between longtime partners Washington and Riyadh over the Saudi-led OPEC+ cartel`s recent vote to cut oil production by up to two million barrels per day from November.
• The Future Investment Initiative (FII), a three-day conference set to begin on October 25 in Riyadh, typically draws Wall Street titans and high-ranking officials from around the world, and up to 400 American CEOs are expected to participate this year, said Richard Attias, CEO of the group behind the event
9. Six killed in drone attacks on Kyiv, other areas
• Atleast six people were killed by Russian attacks on civil infrastructure in the Ukraine`s capital and the eastern region of Sumy, Ukraine officials said Monday, after dozens of drones were launched at Kyiv.
• Russia launched the fresh attack using what the Ukrainian president`s office said were `kamikaze drones`. The strikes claimed atleast three lives in the capital and an equal number in the eastern region of Sumy, according to Ukrainian officials.
• `As of now, the number of people killed as a result of a kamikaze drone attack on a residential building has increased to three. Nineteen people have been rescued. (Rescue) work is ongoing,` the deputy head of the presidency, Kyrylo Tymoshenko, said on social media
10. Free Umrah visa for FIFA World Cup ticket holders
• MUSLIM holders of World Cup tickets will be able to perform Umrah in Saudi Arabia without the need to pay for a visa, the kingdom has announced.
• According to Middle East Eye online news website, those with a Hayya card the document given to fans attending FIFA World Cup matches in Qatar will not need to pay to do the year round pilgrimage to Makkah.
• Khaled al-Shammari, an assistant director of the visa department at the Saudi foreign ministry, recently announced that Hayya card holders could stay in Saudi Arabia for up to two months
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