* A ten-for-ten prisoner swap between Russia and Ukraine took place in Belarus on Monday, local media reported. The report said ten Ukrainian citizens and ten Russian servicemen returned home from captivity under instructions from Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.
* At the 17th Co-operation Forum held on Tuesday in Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore reaffirmed their commitment to maintaining the Straits of Malacca and Singapore (SOMS) as free, open and safe international shipping lanes.
* Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella has vowed to start deporting undocumented migrants as part of a broader security policy.
* Pakistani Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said Tuesday that significant progress was made in talks between the Pakistani and Iranian leaderships toward restoring the Islamabad MoU, expressing hope that the momentum would help pave the way for lasting peace in the region.
* Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Monday the United States must change its tone and approach toward Iran. Pezeshkian stressed the need for the United States to remain committed to its obligations toward Iran "based on the (country's) legitimate rights and international regulations."
* Recent attacks in the Black Sea poses a serious threat to maritime safety and global food security, Turkish Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz said on Monday, following a series of incidents involving commercial vessels, including Turkish-operated ships.
* Omani Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr bin Hamad Al Busaidi is scheduled to visit Iran on Tuesday for consultations on bilateral and regional issues, Iran's Foreign Ministry announced Monday.
* A tanker was struck by an unknown projectile 63 nautical miles west of the Red Sea port of Yanbu, Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said on Monday. All crew are safe and accounted for, and no environmental impact has been reported, said UKMTO.
* Syria on Monday welcomed the U.S. decision to remove the country from Washington's list of state sponsors of terrorism, calling the move an important step toward ending decades of isolation.
* Saudi Arabia's state petroleum company Aramco announced Monday the signing of agreements and a memorandum of understanding with French companies, with a potential combined value of more than 3.7 billion USD, amid a visit by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud to France.
* Iran has not received any official invitation to join the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement, said Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei on Monday.
* Malaysia will cooperate with Indonesia to step up preventive and early firefighting measures to cope with the El Nino phenomenon, Malaysian Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability Minister Arthur Joseph Kurup said on Monday.
* A team tasked with verifying ceasefire violations between the government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and the rebel March 23 Movement (M23) arrived Monday in Minembwe in the eastern province of South Kivu, as fighting continued in several parts of the region.
* The New Zealand government will cap annual council rates increases at an initial target range of 2 to 4 percent under proposed legislation aimed at keeping local taxes affordable for households and businesses, a senior official said on Tuesday.
* Slovakia's minimum wage will rise to 972 euros (1133.5 USD) per month in 2027, up from 915 euros (1067.1 USD) in 2026, Slovak Labour, Social Affairs and Family Minister Erik Tomas announced on Monday following a meeting of the tripartite council.
* The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) set out a 2027 marketing plan on Monday, targeting at least a 5 percent increase in tourism revenue and shifting a larger share of visitors to emerging destinations, in a strategic move to rebalance growth.
* Fewer Filipino families experienced hunger in the second quarter of 2026, with the hunger rate falling to 20.3 percent in June from 23.2 percent in March, local media reported on Tuesday.
* At least 40 people were killed after gangs attacked the commune of Kenscoff, near Haiti's capital Port-au-Prince, local media reported Monday.
* The death toll from an irregular migrant boat sinking off the southeastern coast of Tunisia has risen to 19, following continued search and rescue operations, private radio station Jawhara FM reported Monday.
* The daily global average sea surface temperature (SST) reached 21.1 degrees Celsius on Aug. 22, surpassing the previous record of 21.09 degrees Celsius set in March 2024, the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) said Monday.
* Authorities said Monday that dozens of homes had been destroyed or damaged and at least seven people injured as a fast-growing wildfire spread rapidly toward Reno, a city in northwestern Nevada near the Nevada-California border.
* Persistent rainstorms and typhoon activity have lashed many parts of China, swelling rivers beyond warning levels, triggering floods in the south, and prompting emergency responses across multiple provinces.
* Colombia's National Unit for Disaster Risk Management said Monday that 12 wildfires remain active in three departments amid El Nino conditions.
* At least 15 people were injured in an earthquake in Afghanistan's eastern Nangarhar province on Tuesday morning, local media Tolo News reported.
* Authorities in South Australia (SA) on Tuesday said they will vaccinate about 100 captive birds against the H5N1 strain of avian influenza amid a growing outbreak in the state.
