* Singaporean President Halimah Yacob on Monday called for building a more resilient economy and maintaining social harmony to push the country forward while delivering her final National Day message.
* Spain's conservative People's Party said on Monday it believed it could break a political deadlock and form a government after the hard-right Vox hinted it will not insist on being part of a coalition in exchange for its support.
* Poland's Border Guard has asked the defence ministry to send another 1,000 troops to the border with Belarus, the deputy interior minister said on Monday, amid an increase in attempts to illegally cross the frontier.
* Italy's government said on Sunday it had reduced the number of troops it has in Niger to make room in its military base for civilians who may need protection from a fragile security situation.
* West African leaders will discuss Niger on Thursday after the junta that seized power there on July 26 defied a deadline to reinstate the ousted president or face the threat of military intervention, a spokesman for the regional bloc said on Monday.
* Niger closed its airspace on Sunday until further notice, citing the threat of military intervention from the West African regional bloc after coup leaders rejected a deadline to reinstate the country's ousted president.
* Israeli security forces shot dead three Palestinian militants in the occupied West Bank on Sunday, Israeli police said, drawing threats of revenge by Palestinian militant factions.
* Russia will evacuate a village in its far east on Aug. 11 as part of the launch of Russia's first lunar lander mission in nearly half a century, a local official said on Monday.
* Saudi Arabia signed a strategic agreement with Turkish defence firm Baykar Tech to localise the manufacturing of drones in the kingdom, state-owned Saudi Arabian Military Industries (SAMI)posted on messaging platform X, formerly known as Twitter, on Sunday.
* Additional interest rate hikes will likely be needed in order to lower inflation to the U.S. Federal Reserve's 2% target, Fed Governor Michelle Bowman said on Monday.
* Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) on Monday announced that it will commit up to 150 million Singapore dollars (about 112.5 million USD) over three years under the renewed Financial Sector Technology and Innovation Scheme (FSTI 3.0).
* Indonesia's economy grew by 5.17 percent in the April-June quarter from the same period last year, the country's Central Statistics Agency (BPS) said in Jakarta on Monday.
* South Korea's jobless claims rose last month amid growing worry about an economic slump, labor ministry data showed Monday.
* Myanmar exported over 800,000 tons of corn in the first four months of the 2023-24 fiscal year starting from April 1, according to the Myanmar Corn Industrial Association (MCIA) on Monday.
* Thai farmers marked the beginning of rice cultivation during the monsoon season on Sunday with their annual water buffaloes race which dates back to the 1800s.
* Italy's government has earmarked 2.9 million euros ($3.2 million) to tackle the spread of a particularly aggressive crab species that is threatening the country's role as one of the world's top producers of clams.
* Sri Lanka's government has planned for an uninterrupted supply of electricity to the whole country throughout the year, Power and Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekara said on Monday.
