* Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said early on Monday that his ruling alliance did not achieve the desired result from Sunday's local elections, adding they would carry out self-criticism and address shortcomings.
* Indonesia's President-elect Prabowo Subianto is expected to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing on Monday for high-level talks, less than two months after winning the race to lead Southeast Asia's biggest economy.
* Indonesia's President-elect Prabowo Subianto will visit Japan on April 2-3, where he is set to meet Prime Minister Kishida Fumio and other officials, Japan's chief cabinet secretary Hayashi Yoshimasa said on Monday.
* The United States government is arranging a summit between President Joe Biden and his Japanese and South Korean counterparts in July, on the sidelines of a NATO summit in Washington, Japanese media outlets reported.
* Israeli forces have withdrawn from Gaza's Al Shifa Hospital after a two-week operation during which they killed Palestinian gunmen in clashes and seized weaponry and intelligence documents, the military said on Monday.
* Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi on Sunday held a phone conversation with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan, calling for practical measures to enhance bilateral ties and address the Gaza crisis.
* At least 32,845 Palestinians have been killed and 75,392 injured in Israel's military offensive in the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7, the Palestinian enclave's health ministry said on Monday.
* Russia on Monday halted an operation aimed at saving 13 miners trapped in a mine since March 18, the TASS news agency cited mine management as saying. Rescuers had to halt their work due to the risk of another collapse, it said.
* China's border ports are expected to see a daily average of 1.78 million inbound and outbound trips, up 74.5 percent year on year, during the upcoming Qingming Festival, according to a forecast released by the National Immigration Administration (NIA) on Monday.
* The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a financing package of 24.9 million USD to help improve access to quality health services in the border provinces in Laos, the multilateral lender said on Monday.
* Cambodia's economic growth will improve to 5.8 percent in 2024, up from 5.4 percent in 2023, a World Bank's senior economist said on Monday. The Southeast Asian country's growth is traditionally driven by garment export, tourism, agriculture, as well as construction and real estate.
* The World Bank on Monday maintained Malaysia's 2024 growth forecast at 4.3 percent, with domestic demand continuing to be the main driver of growth.
* Thailand's economic growth is projected at 2.8 percent in 2024, down from 3.2 percent expected in December last year due to dimmer export and public investment prospects, the World Bank said on Monday.
* Myanmar's government is working to provide loans to micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) at low interest rates through the MSME development fund, according to the Department of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development under the Ministry of Industry on Monday.
* South Korea's export grew for the sixth consecutive month in March due to strong global demand for locally-made tech products, government data showed Monday.
* Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has sought further support from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to expedite Bangladesh's endeavour for its people's socioeconomic development.
* The next review of Egypt's IMF loan programme should be completed by the end of June, when authorities will be able to draw on a further $820 million, an IMF official said on Monday, after an expanded loan programme was agreed last month.
* Philippine exports exceeded 100 billion USD for the first time in 2023, with a total of 103.6 billion dollars, a 4.8 percent increase from 2022, the Philippines' Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said Monday.
* The Iraqi Oil Ministry on Sunday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the German Siemens and the U.S. Schlumberger companies on the utilization of associated gas in the Iraqi oil fields.
