GREECE: The Greek Foreign Ministry on Saturday demanded the release of Dionysis-Fredi Beleri, a candidate for mayor of the Albanian city of Himare, which has a strong Greek minority presence.

Mr Beleri was arrested by Albanian police early on Friday on charges of vote buying, two days ahead of local elections. 

A court confirmed on Saturday that he would remain in custody.

THAILAND: Voters in Thailand headed to the polls yesterday in an election touted as a pivotal chance for change, eight years after incumbent Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha first came to power in a 2014 coup. 

The opposition Pheu Thai Party, headed by Paetongtarn Shinawatra, is widely predicted to win at least a healthy plurality of the seats in the 500-member lower House.

UNITED STATES: A brawl broke out at a political party’s campaign event for Minneapolis City Council candidates on Saturday, resulting in a call to police and injuries following the fight sparked by loud disagreements over nominations.

At least one person was transported to a hospital for non-life-threatening injuries and another was treated at the scene of the Democratic–Farmer–Labour Party’s endorsing convention for Minneapolis Ward 10, the Star Tribune reported.

No arrests were reported.

BANGLADESH: Cyclone Mocha battered the coastlines of Bangladesh and Myanmar after intensifying into the equivalent of a category-five storm.

There were fears it was set to hit the world’s largest refugee camp, Cox’s Bazar, where nearly one million people live.

Forecasters warned the cyclone could be the most powerful storm seen in Bangladesh in nearly two decades.