* Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said on Monday that First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber is in charge of the executive branch and has a maximum period of 50 days to hold elections following the death of President Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash, Iran's official news agency IRNA reported. Five days of national mourning have been declared by Khamenei.
* Following the announcement of Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi's death by Iranian state-backed media and government officials, many world leaders and regional organizations expressed condolences to Iran on Monday morning.
* Philippine Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri Monday confirmed that he is stepping down. Senator Francis Escudero will replace Zubiri as new president. Following the shake-up, all senate committees will be declared vacant.
* Nepal's prime minister won a parliamentary vote of confidence on Monday amid protests by the opposition demanding a parliamentary probe into allegations that his home minister illegally took money from several companies before he entered politics.
* The Dominican Republic's hugely popular President Luis Abinader vowed unity and impartial leadership on Sunday as he soared to victory in elections with a sufficiently wide margin to clinch a second term without a second-round vote.
* Lithuania's Central Election Commission (VRK) Sunday confirmed results of the first round of presidential election and the referendum on the amendment of Article 12 of the Constitution.
* Iran's three branches of government held an extraordinary meeting on Monday, with First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber representing the executive branch following the death of President Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash, state TV said.
* Lebanon on Monday announced three days of national mourning for the Iranian president and foreign minister, who were killed in a helicopter crash overnight near the Azerbaijan border.
* Israel was not involved in the death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash that also killed several members of his entourage, an Israeli official told Reuters on Monday.
* Officials from Singapore and Pacific Island states exchange views on climate change, sustainable development, and urban planning during the 3rd Singapore-Pacific High-Level Visit from Monday to Wednesday in the city-state.
* Malawian Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs Simplex Chithyola Banda has disclosed that more than 600 delegates from Africa and beyond are expected to participate in the 9th African Population Conference, which is scheduled to take place from May 20 to 24 in Lilongwe, the country's capital.
* Spain recalled its ambassador to Buenos Aires for consultations on Sunday after Argentina's President Javier Milei made derogatory comments about Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's wife during a rally in Madrid.
* Tens of thousands of demonstrators from various European countries marched in Brussels on Sunday, calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
* The Jordan Armed Forces said Sunday that it conducted three airdrops of humanitarian and food aid over several locations in the southern Gaza Strip.
* The Russian government has made a final decision to suspend the temporary ban on gasoline exports as the market is sufficiently supplied, the RBC daily reported on Monday citing a source familiar with the decision.
* Ukrainian forces shot down all 29 drones used by Russian forces in an overnight attack, Ukraine's air force said in a statement on Monday.
* The United Nations humanitarian agency said on Sunday that it has stepped up its response to tackle the cholera outbreak in Somalia as the death toll has increased to 120 since January.
* A mass shooting occurred just before midnight on Saturday in Savannah, Georgia, the U.S., injuring 11 people, according to the local police department.
* Ukraine's grain exports in the 2023/24 July-June marketing season had reached 44.4 million metric tons by May 20, compared with 44.6 million as of May 24 last year, agriculture ministry data showed on Monday.
* Singapore's foreign wholesale increased 3.4 percent year-on-year in the first quarter, the Department of Statistics said Monday.
* In line with the global trade recovery, Malaysia's exports in April rebounded by 9.1 percent year-on-year to 114.72 billion ringgit (24.49 billion USD) after two consecutive months of contraction, official data showed Monday.
* Over 10,000 individuals have been affected by prevailing heavy rains and strong winds, Deputy Director of Sri Lanka's Disaster Management Center Thusitha Waidyarathne told journalists here on Monday.
