* Senegal has assumed the rotating presidency of the African Ministers' Council on Water (AMCOW) for the next two years (2025-2027), succeeding Egypt, according to an official source in Dakar on Monday.
* The 2025 Mobile World Congress (MWC) opened in Barcelona on Monday, bringing together industry leaders, policymakers, and technology innovators to explore advancements in 5G, artificial intelligence (AI), and advanced connectivity.
* The Indonesian government said on Monday that the country needed at least 4 million tons of rice to support its free nutritious meal program, which aims to benefit 82.9 million people.
* Russia has banned Japanese Minister for Foreign Affairs Iwaya Takeshi and eight other Japanese citizens from entering the country in a retaliatory move, the Russian foreign ministry said Monday.
* Russia-U.S. talks on Ukraine are unlikely to begin before the full restoration of diplomatic missions in both countries, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was quoted by RIA Novosti as saying on Tuesday.
* The Trump administration on Monday paused all military aid to Ukraine, Bloomberg reported. The pause, which Trump ordered Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth to execute, will remain in effect until President Donald Trump determines that Ukraine's leaders "demonstrate a good-faith commitment to peace" with Russia, a senior Defense Department official was quoted as saying.
* U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday the United States "will not put up with" what he perceived as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's hesitancy about reaching a U.S.-brokered peace deal with Russia.
* The situation remains difficult in terms of reaching a settlement with Ukraine, local media reported Monday, citing Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
* China will impose additional tariffs on some products imported from the United States, effective from March 10, the Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council said Tuesday.
* U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday that 25 percent tariffs on Mexico and Canada will take effect on Tuesday, March 4.
* Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Monday that Canada will impose 25-percent tariffs on 155 billion Canadian dollars (about 107 billion USD) worth of U.S. goods if the United States proceeds with its proposed tariffs on Canadian products.
* Canada's Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson has said that Canada and the United States are no longer trade partners as before even if the tariffs are removed.
* Italy's government has confirmed that the country will resume generating nuclear power no later than 2030. Gilberto Pichetto Fratin, Italy's minister for environment and energy security, said the first nuclear plants will be operational before the end of 2030, business daily Il Sole 24 Ore reported on Monday.
* Algeria and Italy discussed expanding cooperation across multiple sectors on Monday during a visit of Italian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani to Algiers.
* Flour and vegetable prices have increased more than 100-fold in the Gaza Strip and essential living materials await delivery following Israel's closure of the crossings into the enclave, UN humanitarians said on Monday.
* Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty held a series of bilateral meetings Monday in Cairo with his visiting counterparts from Palestine, Jordan, Tunisia, Bahrain, Mauritania, Yemen, and Iraq ahead of an emergency Arab Summit on Gaza, scheduled for Tuesday in Egypt's New Administrative Capital.
* The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates on Monday called for the Israeli army to withdraw from the Gaza Strip and allow the State of Palestine to assume its duties.
* Israel will begin constructing a 1.445-billion-USD barrier along the border with Jordan in the coming months, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Monday.
* Newly appointed UNIFIL Sector West Commander Nicola Mandolesi on Monday called on Lebanon and Israel to refrain from actions that could jeopardize the fragile stability in the region.
* Israel launched airstrikes on Monday night targeting a Syrian air defense battalion near the western coastal city of Tartus, Syrian state media and a war monitor reported.
* The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, collectively known as OPEC+, announced on Monday that they will move forward with their previously planned oil output increase starting April 1.
* Sinopec, China's largest oil refiner, on Monday announced the discovery of two major shale oilfields in the east of the country with combined proven reserves of 180 million tonnes.
* Libya launched a new public bidding round for oil and gas exploration for the first time in 17 years, Acting Chairman of the state-owned Libyan National Oil Corporation Masoud Sulaiman announced on Monday.
* Japan's nationwide unemployment rate stood at 2.5 percent in January, unchanged from the previous month, data from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications showed Tuesday.
* Indonesia's rice production is expected to rise by 25.99 percent to 13.95 million tons between January and April 2025, compared to the same period last year, according to Statistics Indonesia (BPS) on Monday.
* Italy's economy grew by 0.7 percent in 2024, according to the country's national statistical institute ISTAT on Monday. This growth rate fell short of the 1.0 percent projection in Italy's Budgetary Structural Plan but remained broadly consistent with other forecasts.
* Austria's gross domestic product (GDP) contracted by 1.1 percent in real terms in 2024 compared to the previous year, as the country's economy continued to struggle with recession, Statistics Austria reported on Monday.
* The Romanian Senate tacitly adopted on Monday the so-called "little train" ordinance, a fiscal package issued by the government on Dec. 30, 2024, aimed at reducing public spending and increasing state revenues.
* The Arab economy accounts for nearly 5 percent of the world's gross domestic product (GDP), with Qatar being the richest country in the region, according to a new report released on Monday by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia.
* Thailand's business sentiment rose marginally in February, mainly thanks to improvements in the manufacturing sector, the central bank said on Monday.
* Driven by a boom in remittances from overseas workers, Bangladesh's foreign exchange reserves reached nearly 21 billion USD by the end of February, the latest central bank data showed.
* Severe flooding hit most areas in Jakarta and its satellite cities on Tuesday after heavy rain poured over the regions since Monday evening, leaving thousands of houses submerged and hundreds of residents affected.
