* Venezuela's National Electoral Council on Monday declared President Nicolas Maduro the winner of Sunday’s election with 51 percent of the vote against opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez’s 44 percent.
* China congratulates Venezuela on the success of its presidential election, and Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on his successful re-election, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said on Monday.
* Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated President Nicolas Maduro on his re-election on Monday, adding that Moscow is fully committed to "continuing constructive cooperation on important bilateral and international matters."
* Venezuela on Monday called on the governments of Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, Peru, Panama, the Dominican Republic and Uruguay to withdraw their diplomatic staff accredited in the country.
* The Biden administration said on Monday that electoral manipulation had stripped Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's claim of reelection victory of "any credibility," and Washington left the door open to fresh sanctions on the OPEC nation.
* The European Union cannot recognise the results of Venezuela's presidential election until all polling station records are published and verified, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on Monday.
* Abdulrahman Kinana, vice chairperson of Tanzania's ruling party Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM), has resigned, the party announced Monday.
* The Communist Party of China (CPC) leadership held a meeting on Tuesday to analyze the current economic situation and set out priorities for the second half of this year. Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, presided over the meeting.
* The Philippines' Department of Budget and Management (DBM) on Monday submitted the proposed 2025 budget or national expenditure program (NEP) to the House of Representatives for scrutiny.
* The 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) will be held in Beijing from Sept. 4 to 6, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying announced on Tuesday.
* Russia's Gazprom GAZP.MM said it would send 42.4 million cubic metres (mcm) of gas to Europe via Ukraine on Tuesday, compared with 41.9 million cubic metres on Monday.
* The Slovak refinery Slovnaft will suspend the supplies of diesel to Ukraine if the transit of Russian oil via Ukraine to Slovakia is not resumed soon, Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico said on Monday.
* People from countries with diplomatic relations with China can visit the southern island province of Hainan visa-free for 144 hours via tour groups registered in Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions, said the National Immigration Administration on Tuesday.
* Israel's foreign minister urged NATO to expel Turkey on Monday after its President Tayyip Erdogan threatened his country might enter Israel as it had entered Libya and Nagorno-Karabakh in the past.
* Israel and the Islamist group Hamas traded blame on Monday over the lack of progress in reaching a ceasefire and hostage release deal in the Gaza Strip despite international mediation.
* Cyprus is preparing to serve as a critical evacuation hub for foreign nationals amid escalating tensions in the Middle East, Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos said on Monday.
* Air France and Transavia France have suspended their flights to the Lebanese capital Beirut for Monday and Tuesday, due to concerns over the "security situation at the destination," local media BFMTV reported on Monday.
* At least 44 people were killed and 177 others injured in armed clashes between two groups during the last six days in Kurram district of Pakistan's northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, a hospital official said on Monday.
* Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron on Monday exchanged views on the revival of a 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers and the removal of sanctions.
* Iran's permanent mission to the United Nations in New York has rejected claims by U.S. intelligence officials that Tehran sought to influence the U.S. presidential election, the official news agency IRNA reported on Tuesday.
* Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Syrian Prime Minister Hussein Arnous pledged to enhance bilateral relations in various areas during their meeting in the Iranian capital of Tehran on Monday.
* Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) seized a foreign oil tanker carrying more than 700,000 liters of smuggled fuel north of the Persian Gulf, the IRGC's official news outlet Sepah News reported on Monday.
* Kuwait has agreed to transfer 22 Iranians imprisoned in the Arab state to their home country to serve the rest of their jail terms.
* UN humanitarians said on Monday the United Nations is planning to assist some 2.4 million of the 3.3 million people projected to be affected by floods in South Sudan from September onward.
* The U.S. federal government's total public debt has surpassed 35 trillion USD for the first time, again sparking concerns about the naiton's escalating debt problem and its implications for the U.S. economy.
* Finnish consumer confidence remained cautious in July, despite a rise to -7.2 from -7.6 in June and -10.3 in May, according to Statistics Finland on Monday.
* Credit ratings agency Fitch on Monday upgraded Pakistan's long-term foreign-currency issuer default rating to CCC+ from CCC, citing greater certainty over continued availability of external funding.
* The European Commission announced on Monday that it has approved a 998 million euros (1 billion USD) Dutch subsidy scheme aimed at boosting the country's electrolysis capacity and supporting the production of renewable hydrogen.
* UN humanitarians said on Monday the United Nations is planning to assist some 2.4 million of the 3.3 million people projected to be affected by floods in South Sudan from September onward.
* The South African Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD) has declared a disease management area (DMA) in a further effort to prevent the spread of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD), local media reported Monday.
* The East African Community (EAC), a regional bloc, on Monday called on its eight member states to educate their citizens on how to protect themselves and prevent the spread of mpox (monkeypox), an infectious disease caused by the mpox virus.
* The global wild tiger population has risen from approximately 3,200 in 2010 to around 5,500 in 2024, with countries such as China, Russia, India and Nepal doubling their wild tiger populations, according to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).
* Torrential rain and floods killed four people and spurred the evacuation of thousands from homes in China's southern province of Hunan, lashed by record rainfall from the remnants of Typhoon Gaemi, state media said on Tuesday.
* Continuous heatwaves in southern and eastern Europe have surged in electricity demand and power outages. The increased use of air conditioning units and cold water has put unprecedented pressure on electricity and water infrastructures, causing many systems to fail in recent weeks.
* In the past 24 hours, Greece has recorded 54 wildfires, with firefighting teams successfully containing 43 of them, according to Greek Fire Brigade on Monday.
* Power supply to around 30,000 houses in Latvia was disrupted on Monday morning due to storm damage, local news agency LETA reported.
