* Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif felicitated the people on the 76th anniversary of national independence on Monday and called for national unity and self-belief to counter the challenges faced by the country.
* China's defence minister Li Shangfu will visit Russia and Belarus from Aug. 14-19, theministry said in a statement on Monday.
* China will hold joint military training with Thailand from mid-August to early September in Thailand, China's defence ministry said in a statement on Monday.
* Niger's junta vowed Sunday to prosecute ousted President Mohamed Bazoum for "high treason" and slammed West African leaders for imposing sanctions on the country, reported local media.
* The Arab League (AL) welcomed the Australian government's decision to officially refer to the Israeli settlements built on occupied Palestinian territories as "illegal," said the Cairo-based pan-Arab organization in a statement on Sunday.
* Argentina held presidential primary elections on Sunday to elect the candidates for the general elections scheduled for Oct. 22.
* Clashes have renewed between the Sudanese Army and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in western Sudan's South Darfur State amid continued tribal violence in the state, according to eyewitnesses and local media.
* The United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Sunday dismissed claims that it had supplied warring parties in Sudan with arms and ammunition.
* Syria is beefing up its forces in the eastern province of Deir al-Zour, where its troops were recently ambushed by the Islamic State (IS) militants, a war monitor reported Sunday.
* Moroccan navy has rescued 130 Senegalese migrants off the Atlantic coast near Dakhla city, the official MAP news agency reported Sunday.
* The death toll from the Maui wildfires in U.S. state of Hawaii reached 93 on Saturday, according to the Maui County's website.
*Japan braced for Typhoon Lan to make landfall, with airlines and railways cancelling services in central areas of the country's main island, where it is expected to strike on Tuesday.
* Torrential rain in India's Himalayas triggered landslides over the weekend that have killed at least 18 people, with dozens trapped or missing, officials said on Monday.
* Floods in Russia's Far East had forced the evacuation of more than 2,500 people by Monday, the ministry of emergency situations said, after Russia joined the list of countries battered by rainstorms in the wake of Typhoon Khanun.
* As a significant surge in dengue fever cases has gripped Bangladesh, the World Health Organization (WHO) called for efforts to control the mosquito vector population and minimize individual exposure such as using mosquito repellents and wearing long-sleeved clothes.
* Somalia and the UN agencies said Sunday they are rolling out a five-day cholera vaccination campaign in five districts targeting 590,803 people aged one year and above including pregnant mothers.
