* China will never accept the United States pointing fingers at Sino-Russia relations, the Chinese foreign ministry said at a regular news briefing on Monday.
* The armed forces of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) conducted a multiple-rocket launching drill Monday morning, the official Korean Central News Agency reported, in response to the US-the Republic of Korea combined air drill a day earlier.
* US President Joe Biden made an unannounced visit to the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on Monday and met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, days before the first anniversary of Russia's “special military operation” in Ukraine in 2022.
* Turkish and Russian leaders may soon discuss a U.N.-backed initiative that has enabled the export of grain from Ukrainian ports, but there is no date set yet, a source familiar with the negotiations on the deal told RIA Novosti on Monday.
* French President Emmanuel Macron spoke by telephone on Sunday to Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy as Western leaders aim to strengthen their support for Ukraine in the face of Russia's latest military attacks.
* US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Monday Washington strongly supports Sweden and Finland's quick NATO accession given steps they have already taken, even as his Turkish counterpart stressed the need for more concrete action.
* Saudi Arabia's energy minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said on Monday the OPEC+ alliance was flexible enough to change decisions whenever it was required.
* France and Burkina Faso have officially marked the end of French military operations in the West African nation, the Burkinabe armed forces said on Sunday, after a flag-lowering ceremony at the French special forces' camp a day earlier.
* The Afghan caretaker administration has decided to change former US military bases into economic zones to bolster economic activities, the state-run Bakhtar news agency reported on Sunday.
* The U.N. nuclear watchdog said on Sunday it was discussing the results of recent verification activities with Iran after Bloomberg News reported that the agency had detected uranium enriched to 84% purity, which is close to weapons grade.
* India's third moon mission Chandrayaan-3 has successfully undergone a key test that ensures functionality of the satellite subsystems in the space environment and their compatibility with the expected electromagnetic levels, officials said Monday.
* Malaysia's exports rose by 1.6 percent year on year to 112.84 billion ringgit (25.46 billion USD) in January, official data showed on Monday.
* The death toll from the earthquakes that struck on Feb. 6 has risen to 41,020 in Turkey, the Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) said on Sunday.
* The United States will provide an additional100 million USD for earthquake response in Turkey and Syria, the US State Department said on Sunday, adding to the 85 million USD previously approved.
* Saudi Arabia has agreed on more than 183 million riyals (48.8 million USD) worth of projects to help Syria and Turkey after this month's devastating earthquakes, Saudi state TV reported on Monday.
* Germany's interior and foreign ministers will travel to earthquake-hit regions of Turkey on Tuesday, according to a spokesperson for the foreign ministry on Monday.
* Debris from Russia's Progress MS-21 cargo spacecraft has plunged into the non-navigable part of the Pacific Ocean, the Russian State Corporation Roscosmos said on Sunday.
* Iran denies Israel's accusation that Tehran targeted an Israeli oil tanker on Feb. 10, Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani said on Monday.
* An Israeli rocket strike early on Sunday hit a building in central Damascus, killing five people and damaging several buildings in the densely populated district, witnesses and officials said.
* The main border crossing between Afghanistan and Pakistan was closed on Monday, officials from the two sides said, and residents in the area reported the sound of gunfire near the normally bustling border transit point.
* A total of 529,641 mosquito nets worth 2.9 billion Tanzanian shillings (about 1.2 million USD) will be distributed to pupils in 1,083 primary schools in Tanzania's Indian Ocean coast region of Tanga, an official said on Sunday.
* Floods and landslides caused by heavy rains along the coast of southeast Brazil's Sao Paulo state have claimed 36 lives, authorities said Sunday.
* Sri Lanka's police rescued 33 youths who were on a hike but lost at the 155-square-kilometer Knuckles mountain range due to heavy rain and fog, police said on Monday.
* New Zealand warned on Monday the final cost of the devastating Cyclone Gabrielle, which has left at least 11 people dead, could rise above 8 billion USD as authorities announced emergency funding to help in the recovery efforts.
* Weeks of dry winter weather have raised concerns that Italy could face another drought after last summer's emergency, with the Alps having received less than half of their normal snowfall, according to scientists and environmental groups.
* At least 12 passengers were killed and 54 others injured on Sunday night as a bus fell into a ditch in the Chakwal district of Pakistan's eastern Punjab province, rescue service told Xinhua.
