* Lao Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone has extended warm wishes to children and youth nationwide and abroad on International Children's Day on June 1, reaffirming the government's commitment to protecting children's rights and supporting their safe and healthy development while highlighting their vital role in the nation's future.
* Colombia's Abelardo de la Espriella, an independent candidate associated with the far-right Defenders of the Homeland movement, and Ivan Cepeda of the ruling left-wing Historic Pact coalition, advanced to the presidential runoff after emerging as the top two candidates in Sunday's first-round vote, according to preliminary results released by the National Civil Registry.
* Polling stations opened across Ethiopia on Monday morning as millions of voters are set to cast their ballots in the country's seventh general election.
* Japan on Monday began a new round of discharge of nuclear-contaminated wastewater from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant into the ocean, marking the 20th such release since the controversial operation began in 2023.
* The East African Community (EAC) will convene an extraordinary virtual meeting of health ministers from June 1 to 2 to coordinate a regional response to the ongoing Ebola outbreak affecting parts of East Africa, the regional bloc said in a statement on Sunday.
* World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has called for stronger community trust and international solidarity in the response to the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), warning that travel bans and border closures could make the fight against the disease more difficult.
* Ecuador's customs authority on Sunday issued a resolution to abolish a 100 percent tariff on Colombian goods starting June 1, ending a trade dispute that had strained relations between the two countries in recent months.
* U.S. Central Command said on Sunday U.S. military conducted "self-defense strikes" on Iranian radar and command and control sites for drones in parts of Iran during the weekend.
* Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf said Sunday that Tehran will not agree to any deal with the United States until the rights of the Iranian people have been secured.
* French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday called for a rapid agreement between the United States and Iran, urging the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz without conditions and in accordance with international law.
* Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi said Sunday that the country was helping to facilitate a peace deal between the United States and Iran, as he spoke with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron over regional developments.
* The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Sunday emphasized that attacks on nuclear facilities are unacceptable and must stop to avoid the "very real risk of a nuclear accident."
* Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz on Monday said in a joint statement that they had ordered the military to strike Beirut's southern suburbs.
* Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz on Monday vowed to turn the area of southern Lebanon's Litani River into a military-controlled zone, and to continue striking Beirut until Hezbollah stops attacks.
* The Kuwaiti army said on Monday that its air defense systems had intercepted "hostile" missiles and drones earlier in the day.
* German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul on Sunday expressed "great concern" over the further advance of the Israeli army in southern Lebanon, urging all conflict parties to immediately cease hostilities and return to an agreed ceasefire.
* Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri said Sunday that Hezbollah is committed to a comprehensive and immediate ceasefire, calling for efforts to compel Israel to halt its military operations, Lebanon's National News Agency reported.
* Gaza-based health authorities reported on Sunday that Israeli forces killed 33 Palestinians and wounded more than 130 others during the Eid al-Adha holiday, which began on Wednesday and ended on Saturday.
* Saudi Arabia's demining initiative in Yemen, Project Masam, announced Sunday that its teams removed 6,323 landmines and explosive remnants of war across the country during May.
* New Zealand's first two shipments of additional diesel reserves are on their way to the country, the government said on Monday.
* A series of development projects valued at 129 million afghanis (over 2 million USD) are set to be implemented this year in Afghanistan's eastern Logar province, the provincial government office said on Monday.
* At least 15 people were killed on Sunday after a truck collided head-on with a van on a highway in Brazil's northeastern state of Bahia, the Federal Highway Police said.
* Indonesia's National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) is mapping the genetic profiles of viruses found in wildlife traded in North Sulawesi to strengthen early detection of diseases with pandemic potential.
* China's Ministry of Water Resources urged authorities Monday to step up disaster-prevention efforts as the country's flood season begins.
* Several areas along the northern coast of Indonesia's Java island are experiencing a combination of land subsidence and sea level rise of up to 4.3 millimeters per year, increasing the risk of flooding and coastal inundation, a researcher from the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) said on Monday.
* Tens of thousands of homes in Western Australia (WA) have been hit by blackouts after severe storms swept across the state over the weekend, damaging properties and power lines.
