* Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid and former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said on Sunday that they will run together in this year's elections, aiming to unseat incumbent Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
* The Palestinian Central Elections Commission on Sunday announced final results from local elections held in 183 municipalities across the occupied West Bank and in the Gaza Strip city of Deir al-Balah.
* Kim Jong Un, general secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea and president of the State Affairs of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), met separately with Russia's State Duma Chairman Vyacheslav Volodin and Defense Minister Andrei Belousov on Sunday, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said Monday. During the talks, the DPRK and Russia reaffirmed their commitment to developing bilateral relations comprehensively in line with the spirit of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Treaty, the report added.
* The Russian Foreign Ministry summoned German Ambassador to Russia Alexander Lambsdorff on Monday over a recent meeting in Kiev between a German lawmaker and the leader of a terrorist organization.
* Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Monday that lawmakers will extend martial law and general mobilization for an additional 90 days, the parliament's press service reported.
* U.S. President Donald Trump said Sunday that he will no longer send delegations to talk with Iran. Trump said that he has great respect for Pakistan, which had been hosting U.S.-Iranian talks in Islamabad, and that Pakistan will stay involved.
* Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi landed at Russia's Saint Petersburg early Monday for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Iranian state media reported.
* Iran, through Pakistani mediators, has presented the United States a new proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and end the war, while postponing nuclear negotiations to a later stage, U.S. online media outlet Axios said Sunday, citing a U.S. official and two sources familiar with the matter.
* A bomb hoax, which triggered a four-hour delay for a Thai AirAsia flight departing from Krabi International Airport on Sunday, has prompted Thai authorities to take immediate security measures and vow severe legal consequences for the perpetrator.
* Iran's armed forces should be the authority responsible for the Strait of Hormuz and the country wants payments for transiting the strait to be made in the local rial currency, Ebrahim Azizi, head of Iran's parliamentary committee on national security and foreign policy, was quoted as saying on Monday by Iran's state television.
* Jordan and Kuwait on Sunday highlighted the importance of advancing diplomatic efforts between the United States and Iran toward a sustainable resolution, stressing the need to ensure freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.
* Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty on Sunday discussed U.S.-Iran negotiations and regional de-escalation efforts in separate phone calls with his Iranian and Qatari counterparts, according to Egypt's Foreign Ministry.
* Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Mustafa said on Sunday that the Gaza ceasefire has not been fully implemented, while accusing Israel of imposing an "economic siege" on the Palestinian Authority (PA) to hinder the establishment of a Palestinian state.
* Hezbollah leader Sheikh Naim Qassem said Monday that Hezbollah categorically rejects direct Lebanon-Israel talks, noting that any outcomes from such talks are irrelevant to the group.
* The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said late Sunday that a cargo vessel had been hijacked off Somalia's northeastern coast near Garacad.
* Libyan Prime Minister Abdul-Hamid Dbeibah on Sunday held talks with a UN envoy to explore ways to move the country toward long-delayed national elections and end its political division.
* The Confederation of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) has expressed its total, unconditional and fraternal solidarity with the Malian people following terrorist attacks targeting several sites in Mali.
* Global military expenditure rose to a record 2.89 trillion USD in 2025, marking the 11th consecutive year of growth, according to a report released by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) on Monday.
* Cambodia's economy is predicted to grow by 5 percent in 2026, slightly down from 5.2 percent in 2025, due to external shocks and the impact of border issue with Thailand, the country's Minister of Economy and Finance Aun Pornmoniroth said on Monday.
* Manufacturing output in Singapore rose 10.1 percent year on year in March, lifting first-quarter growth to 7.9 percent, official data showed on Monday.
* The Philippines has strengthened its fuel buffer with the delivery of about 178.33 million liters of diesel, as authorities move to secure domestic supply against continued volatility in global oil markets and tensions in the Middle East, the Department of Energy (DOE) said Monday.
* Russia on Sunday launched the Progress MS-34 cargo spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The spacecraft, aboard a Soyuz-2.1a carrier rocket, is delivering over 2.5 tonnes of supplies to the International Space Station (ISS), including fuel, food, water, oxygen, scientific equipment and spacesuits.
