* The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on Sunday held in Pyongyang a ceremony marking an official transfer of new tactical ballistic missile systems to its front-line military units, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported Monday.
* Australia's official terror threat level has been raised from "possible" to "probable," Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has announced.
* Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday confirmed that long-awaited F-16 fighter jets have arrived in Ukraine.
* Iran is not looking to escalate regional tensions but believes it needs to punish Israel to prevent further instability, the country's foreign ministry spokesperson said on Monday, following the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran last week.
* The Japanese Foreign Ministry issued a travel alert on Monday urging Japanese citizens in Lebanon to evacuate the country in light of the rising tensions in the Middle East.
* Turkey urged its citizens in Lebanon to leave the country if they do not need to stay, due to the possibility that the security situation there will deteriorate rapidly, its foreign ministry said late on Sunday.
* The Turkish Foreign Ministry on Sunday advised its citizens to leave Lebanon and avoid traveling to the country amid rising regional tensions.
* Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov discussed on Sunday the recent escalation in the Middle East.
* Iran's Acting Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani and Slovenian Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon on Sunday exchanged views on the assassination of Hamas Politburo Chief Ismail Haniyeh.
* The U.S. is deploying additional military might in the Middle East as a defensive measure with a goal of de-escalating tensions in the region, a White House official said on Sunday.
* Sudan's Humanitarian Aid Commission (HAC) on Sunday refuted claims of a famine at Zamzam, one of the largest camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in North Darfur State of western Sudan.
* At least 25 Palestinians were killed by Israeli airstrikes on the schools of al-Nasr and Hassan Salama in Gaza City, Palestinian security and medical sources said Sunday.
* China on Thursday donated 3 million U.S. dollars to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) to support its emergency humanitarian efforts in Gaza.
* The seasonally adjusted S&P Global Singapore Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) posted 57.2 in July, up from 55.2 in June, marking a continued improvement in private business conditions for 17 straight months, the S&P Global said Monday.
* Myanmar exported over 62,000 tons of natural rubber, earning over 87 million USD in the first quarter of the current fiscal year 2024-2025, the state-run media the Global New Light of Myanmar reported on Monday.
* Mongolia attracted a total of 436,617 foreign tourists in the first seven months of this year, the country's Ministry of Culture, Sport, Tourism and Youth reported on Monday.
* South Korea has reported 11 deaths, caused by heat-related illnesses, this year with over 1,500 people treated for heat illnesses, the interior ministry said Monday.
* More than 28,000 residents of northeast China's Liaoning Province have been evacuated following a new round of torrential rains, with water levels of six rivers exceeding warning levels.
* A record heatwave in July across most Ukrainian regions may reduce the 2024 corn harvest by about 6 million metric tons, the Ukrainian producers' union said this weekend.
* Debby muscled up into a full-fledged hurricane late Sunday and took aim at making landfall in the Big Bend region of Florida's Gulf Coast by midday on Monday, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said, warning of life-threatening storm surges.
