* Chinese President Xi Jinping will visit France, Serbia and Hungary from May 5-10, his first Europe trip in five years aimed at boosting EU ties as tensions mount with the world's second largest economy.
* Indonesian President Joko Widodo met with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at the Bogor Palace in West Java on Monday at the yearly Indonesia-Singapore Leaders' Retreat 2024 meeting.
* China will continue to exempt certain U.S. goods from additional tariffs until the end of November this year, the Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council said Monday.
* Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) led by Prime Minister Kishida Fumio lost all three lower house seats on Sunday, as the country's main opposition party won big by sweeping victories in three key by-elections.
* South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol met opposition leader Lee Jae-myung for talks on Monday after a crushing election defeat for the president's ruling party led to widespread calls for a change in his style of leadership and policy direction.
* Togo kicked off legislative elections Monday, with over 2,300 candidates vying for 113 seats of National Assembly, alongside its first-ever regional elections.
* Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced on Monday morning that he would retain his role despite what he considers to be unjustified attacks on his wife Begona Gomez from the opponents.
* Solomon Islands' Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare has withdrawn from running for a new term and Foreign Minister Jeremiah Manele has been nominated as his coalition's prime minister candidate, national broadcaster SIBC reported on Monday.
* The South African government on Sunday assured its citizens that the upcoming national and provincial elections will be conducted in a safe and secure environment, with just one month to go before South African voters head to the polls.
* The free trade agreement (FTA) between China and Ecuador will go into effect on May 1 as both countries have completed respective domestic approval processes, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce (MOC) announced Monday.
* Germany and France have "different ideas" regarding possible reform of the European Central Bank, a German government spokesperson said on Monday.
* Sri Lanka hopes to join BRICS+ in the near future, Sri Lanka's Ambassador to Russia Janitha Abeywickrema Liyanage said recently while addressing the media. BRICS is the acronym for an emerging-market cooperative mechanism that initially includes Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
* The United Arab Emirates and Ukraine have completed negotiations for a bilateral trade deal, according to a joint statement released on Monday, ahead of its formal signing.
* African leaders on Monday called for rich countries to commit record contributions to a low-interest World Bank facility for developing nations that they rely on to help fund their development and combat climate change.
* Israeli airstrikes on three houses in the southern Gaza city of Rafah killed at least 20 Palestinians and wounded many others, medics said on Monday, as Egyptian and Qatari mediators were expected to hold a new round of ceasefire talks with Hamas leaders in Cairo.
* French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne said on Monday talks on a ceasefire in Gaza were progressing as he joined U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Saudi Arabia on a diplomatic push to ease the war between Israel and Hamas.
* An official of the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) said on Sunday that the movement will not accept any agreement with Israel that does not include a cessation of hostilities in the Gaza Strip.
* At least 34,488 Palestinians have been killed and 77,643 were injured in Israel's military offensive on Gaza since Oct. 7, a statement by Gaza's health ministry said on Monday.
* A special meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) commenced on Sunday in Riyadh, with a focus on global collaboration, growth and energy for development.
* The Pakistani government launched a countrywide anti-polio campaign on Monday with a target to vaccinate over 24 million children, said an official.
* One person died and 25 others were rescued on Sunday after a boat carrying migrants sank off the Greek island of Samos in the Aegean Sea, Greek authorities said.
* Iraqi Minister of Water Resources Aoun Diab on Sunday urged just water distribution from shared waterways with upstream countries as his country is suffering from severe water scarcity.
* Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and visiting Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani on Sunday discussed preparations for the upcoming Arab summit, Syria's state news agency SANA reported.
* Ireland's annual inflation rate slowed to 1.6% in April from 1.7% in March and the core rate excluding energy and unprocessed food prices fell to 2.6% from 2.9%, a flash estimate of the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) showed.
* At least two people have died in India's southern state of Kerala of suspected heat stroke, media reported on Monday, as the country battles a sweltering summer that has seen temperatures soar to record levels.
* The Philippines has closed schools down and warned of overloading on its power grid, as authorities across Southeast Asia issued a series of health alerts for a crushing and deadly heat wave.
* At least 42 people have been killed in floods in central Kenya's Mai Mahiu area after a dam burst early on Monday, and the number of deaths could rise, police said.
* A bus crash on the outskirts of Mexico City killed 18 people on Sunday, while another 32 were injured, according to the state of Mexico's civil protection agency.
