* China's President Xi Jinping said on Monday he hoped that U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken would make "more positive contributions" to stabilising China-U.S. ties through his visit to Beijing, according to a video posted by state media CCTV.
* The annual multinational peacekeeping exercise, code-named Khaan Quest 2023, started at Five Hills Training Area near the Mongolian capital on Monday.
* Spain's conservative People's Party is set to win the most seats in the lower house of parliament in next month's national election, far ahead of the ruling Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE), a poll released by El Pais newspaper showed on Monday.
* Israeli commandos backed by a military helicopter killed three Palestinians, including a teenager, and wounded at least 29 others during a fierce clash in the occupied West Bank on Monday, local gunmen and medical officials said.
* Philippine security forces have killed seven alleged members of an armed group in a clash in the southern Philippines, the military said on Monday.
* The Yemeni government and Houthi rebels on Sunday concluded the three-day UN-sponsored talks in Jordan on the prisoner swap with "positive" outcomes.
* Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on Sunday called for the expansion of cooperation between Iran and Uzbekistan as much as possible that meets the two sides' interests.
* French and German interior ministers arrived in Tunisia on Sunday to discuss bilateral cooperation and the issue of illegal immigration.
* Sudan's capital Khartoum witnessed a cautious calm on Sunday as a new humanitarian truce between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) became effective.
* Secretary-General of the Arab League Ahmed Aboul-Gheit met with EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell in Cairo on Sunday over the recent developments in the Middle East.
* Israel's nationalist-religious government on Sunday tabled plans to approve thousands of building permits in the occupied West Bank, despite U.S. pressure to halt settlement expansion that Washington sees as an obstacle to peace with Palestinians.
* Luxembourg's Energy minister Claude Turmes described the proposal to extend subsidies for coal plants as "astonishing" on Monday, adding a large bloc of EU member states would oppose such a move.
* The German government and Intel INTC.O are expected to ink a deal over the U.S. chipmaker's planned 17 billion euro ($18.6 billion) plant in Dresden, capping months of talks over subsidies needed for the project.
* The Paris Airshow opened on Monday with last-minute jet order negotiations and supply chain headaches competing for attention with rows of missiles, drones and futuristic transport.
* Tunisian navy rescued 39 illegal immigrants of different African nationalities off the coast of the southeastern province of Sfax, National Guard Spokesman Houcemeddine Jbabli said Sunday.
* South Korea's inflation was expected to gain speed late this year on the lingering upward inflationary pressure, the country's central bank said on Monday.
* German industry association BDI on Monday said it expects the economy to stagnate this year as a drop in investments, high inflation and a skilled workers shortage weigh on growth.
* Saudi Arabia bought 355,000 tonnes of wheat for the shipment period August to December from Saudi-owned overseas farms, data from General Food Security Authority showed on Monday.
* Incessant rains triggering floods and landslides over the past few days have affected thousands of people in the northeastern state of Assam, officials said Monday.
* An earthquake of magnitude 6.4 struck the Gulf of California on Sunday, the European Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) said. The quake struck at a depth of 10 km (6.21 miles), EMSC said
* At least 628 people have fallen ill after being displaced in shelters due to the eruption of Mayon Volcano, the most active volcano in the Philippines, a government agency reported on Monday.
