* The defence chiefs of China and the United States held face-to-face talks on Tuesday, a US official said, their first meeting since a visit to Taiwan by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi that enraged China.
* Many children killed when their schools collapsed are among the 252 dead from an earthquake that devastated a town on Indonesia's main island of Java, officials said on Tuesday, as rescuers raced to reach people trapped in rubble.
* Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has declared the government stands ready to provide aid to Indonesia and the Solomon Islands after the nations were hit by earthquakes.
* Chinese Vice Premier Sun Chunlan has stressed the importance of taking immediate action to contain current COVID-19 epidemic without delay.
* Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Nasser Kanaani said Monday that any plan to increase US military presence in the international waters south of the country is "unacceptable," as it would threaten stability and peace in the region.
* The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said on Monday that there were "no immediate nuclear safety or security concerns" at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine despite intense shelling at the facility over the weekend.
* Australia's parliament on Tuesday ratified free trade deals with the United Kingdom and India, the latest development in a long-running attempt by Canberra to boost bilateral trade with the two countries.
* Russia has called on Turkey to show restraint in its use of "excessive" military force in Syria and to keep tensions from escalating, Russian news agencies cited a Russian envoy to Syria envoy as saying on Tuesday.
* The United States on Monday urged de-escalation of violence in Syria, US State Department spokesperson Ned Price said in a statement, after tit-for-tat attacks by Turkey's military and a Kurdish militia.
* Turkey said a Kurdish militia killed two people in mortar attacks from northern Syria on Monday, in an escalation of cross-border retaliation following Turkish air operations at the weekend and a deadly bomb attack in Istanbul a week ago.
* European ministers are meeting in Paris to negotiate a more than 25% funding boost for space over the next three years as Europe seeks to maintain a lead in Earth observation, expand navigation services and remain a key partner in exploration.
* Republic of Korea's inflation expectations slightly fell this month despite lingering worry about high inflation, central bank data showed Tuesday.
* Australia Post announced on Monday it will restart to receive inbound international sea mail after more than seven weeks of suspension.
* Japanese Finance Minister Suzuki Shunichi on Monday said the government will do all it can to tackle the rising cost of living, as he sought parliamentary approval for an extra budget to finance an economic package.
* Sri Lanka's inflation measured by the year-on-year change in the national consumer price index decreased to 70.6 percent in October from a record high of 73.7 percent in September, the Department of Census and Statistics said on Monday.
* Romania's ruling coalition will hike state pensions by 12.5% from January and make cash payments to low-income pensioners throughout the year to help the country's most vulnerable cope with surging inflation, party leaders said late on Monday.
* Iran has begun enriching uranium to 60% purity at its underground Fordow nuclear site, state media reported on Tuesday, a move that may annoy Western powers pushing Tehran to roll back its nuclear work by reviving a 2015 pact.
* Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday that his country planned to produce flour from Russian wheat for free delivery to the least developed countries.
* Serbia and Kosovo have failed to reach an agreement on a long-standing dispute over car license plates, the European Union's foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell said on Monday, leading to a risk of violence in the coming days.
* The White House said on Monday that US President Joe Biden had approved an emergency declaration for the state of New York after historic snowfall.
* The head of Iraq's state oil marketer SOMO told Reuters on Tuesday there have been no discussions about OPEC+ deciding on a production increase at its next meeting.
* Saudi Arabian Energy Minister Abdulaziz bin Salman on Monday denied media reports that his country is mulling an oil output increase.
* Türkiye wants to proceed with the normalization process with Egypt through high-level talks, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Monday, a day after his first meeting with his Egyptian counterpart Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi in Qatar.
* Hospitalizations due to coronavirus are on the rise again in Italy, according to official data released on Monday. This could signal a potential surge in cases during the upcoming winter.
* At least one person was killed when a car bomb exploded inside a police compound in southern Thailand on Tuesday, a police official said.
* A magnitude 7.3 earthquake with a depth of 10 km struck Malango in Solomon islands on Tuesday, the United States Geological Survey said. A tsunami warning was issued after the earthquake.
* The International Monetary Fund and South Sudan have reached a staff-level agreement for the release of about $112.7 million in emergency financing, the fund said on Tuesday.
* Italy's cabinet passed the new budget law early on Tuesday, planning measures worth some 35 billion euros (35.8 billion USD) for 2023.
* Hospitalizations due to coronavirus are on the rise again in Italy, according to official data released on Monday. This could signal a potential surge in cases during the upcoming winter.
* The economy of Greece is forecast by the Finance Ministry to grow by 5.6 percent this year and by 1.8 percent in 2023, according to a revised estimate in the country's final 2023 draft budget presented to Parliament on Monday.
* Under an agreement signed on Monday, Norway will provide 2 billion Norwegian kroner (195.4 million USD) to fund Ukraine to purchase natural gas this winter, the Norwegian government said in a press release.
* Yemen's Prime Minister Maeen Abdul-Malik said on Monday that the Houthi rebels' escalation of attacks threaten ongoing peace efforts in the war-ravaged Arab country.
* Tunisian Minister of Economy and Planning Samir Saied on Monday called for strengthened commercial exchanges and joint investment among French-speaking countries.
* The United Nations (UN) on Monday urged West African states to adopt a mixture of military action and good governance to defeat the scourge of violent extremism and terrorism in the region.
* An improvised explosive device (IED) detonated on the road to Timbuktu, Mali, on Monday morning injured three UN peacekeepers, a UN spokesman said.
* Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati on Monday announced that the World Food Program (WFP) will allocate 5.4 billion USD to provide Lebanon with food support from 2023 to 2025.
* Dubai's main airport on Tuesday raised its passenger forecast for this year by nearly two million to 64.3 million people after a strong pick up in business in the third quarter from the same period last year.
* Nine international passenger cruises are expected to arrive in Sri Lanka by March next year, which will boost the country's tourism sector and attract much-needed foreign exchange, said a minister on Monday.
