* Russia remains open to negotiations to resolve the conflict in Ukraine, local media reported Sunday, citing Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
* A ceasefire in Ukraine without addressing the root causes of the conflict could have serious consequences, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov warned Monday.
* Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto officially launched the Investment Management Agency Daya Anagata Nusantara (Danantara) on Monday, a super holding agency to consolidate the management of the country's state-owned enterprises and optimizing dividends and investments.
* Sri Lanka's Secretary to the Ministry of Defense Sampath Thuyacontha announced on Monday that he has ordered the immediate arrest of all military deserters.
* The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) will lay off 1,600 employees in the United States and place the majority of the remaining staff on administrative leave, the agency said Sunday.
* Israel's military said on Sunday evening it launched a new wave of airstrikes in southern Lebanon, targeting Hezbollah sites despite a ceasefire agreement.
* Qatar's Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani met in Doha on Sunday with Syria's interim Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani to discuss bilateral cooperation and the latest developments in Syria, according to a statement by Qatar's Foreign Ministry.
* Head of Iraq's National Intelligence Service Hamid al-Shatri said on Sunday that Baghdad has sent messages to Damascus about the security threats posed by Islamic State (IS) gangs in some areas and prisons in Syria, the official Iraqi News Agency (INA) reported.
* Invitations have been sent to participants for Syria's long-anticipated National Dialogue Conference, the preparatory committee announced on Sunday, with an initial date set for Feb. 25.
* Mongolia has confirmed another imported case of measles, bringing the total to four, local media reported on Monday, citing the country's National Center for Communicable Diseases (NCCD).
* The Afghan interim government's Ministry of Public Health on Monday announced a four-day vaccination campaign aimed at protecting nearly 6.3 million children under the age of five from poliovirus.
