*Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) remains the most popular choice among Japanese voters ahead of the general election on Oct. 27, results from a Kyodo News survey showed.
* Lithuania's parliamentary elections saw a voter turnout of 52.06 percent, up from 47.80 percent in 2020, according to preliminary data from the Central Electoral Commission (VRK). A total of 1,740 candidates contested for seats in the 141-member Seimas, with 2.38 million citizens eligible to vote.
* Comoros will hold elections to its 33-seat parliament on Jan. 12, according to a decree published on Saturday, although opposition parties have said they will boycott the poll.
* Chinese Premier Li Qiang landed in Islamabad, Pakistan, on Monday to attend the 23rd Meeting of the Council of Heads of Government of Member States of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. During his stay, Li will also pay an official visit to the country.
* The armed forces of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) received an order to get ready to open fire, state media said on Sunday, amid rising tensions on the Korean Peninsula following DPRK accusation of South Korea for recent drone incursion into its airspace.
* Some 30,415 people including nearly 8,000 children have been evacuated from areas bordering Ukraine due to shelling and attacks, Russia's human rights commissioner said in remarks published on Monday.
* The state of South Australia (SA) has announced that it will bid to host the United Nations Climate Change Conference in 2026. Premier of SA Peter Malinauskas on Monday said that SA would bid to host the 31st Conference of Parties (COP) summit at the Adelaide Convention Centre in November 2026.
* French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday urged his Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian to support a "general de-escalation" in the Middle East during a conversation, the presidential office said.
* United Nations Interim Force (UNIFIL) being attacked by Israeli armed forces was "unacceptable," Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni told her Israeli counterpart in a phone call, Meloni's office said on Sunday. The call took place after Israel Defense Forces (IDF) fired on UNIFIL positions several times in the last four days.
* The European Union condemns all attacks against United Nations missions, the union's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said in a response to targeting of the UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon, known as UNIFIL, by the Israel Defence Forces.
* Jordan's Minister of Foreign Affairs Ayman Safadi on Sunday reaffirmed Jordan's rejection and condemnation of two Israeli draft bills that could prevent operations of the UN Palestine relief agency, UNRWA, in the occupied Palestinian territories.
* Israel's Defense Minister Yoav Gallant vowed on Sunday that Israel will prevent Hezbollah forces from reoccupying the southern Lebanese border area after the operation ends.
* Lebanon's militant group Hezbollah said in a statement that it attacked a Golani Brigade camp in the northern Israeli town of Binyamina with a "swarm of drones" on Sunday. Earlier on Sunday, Israeli media said around 40 people were hurt in the attack.
* The World Health Organization said on X on Monday that the second phase of a polio vaccination campaign had started in central Gaza. Aid groups carried out a first round of vaccinations last month, after a baby was partially paralysed by the type 2 polio virus in August, in the first such case in the territory in 25 years.
* Israel's military offensive in the Gaza Strip has killed at least 42,289 Palestinians and wounded 98,684 since Oct. 7, 2023, the Palestinian enclave's health ministry said on Monday.
* Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi said on Sunday that safeguarding water, especially the Nile River, requires unwavering political commitment, diligent political efforts, and collaboration among countries to ensure achieving mutually shared aspirations.
* Russia's Gazprom said it would send 42.3 million cubic metres of gas to Europe via Ukraine on Monday, the same volume as on Sunday.
* The Singapore dollar will maintain the prevailing rate of appreciation when the economy picks up growth momentum and inflation steps down, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) announced Monday.
* South Korea's jobless claims fell for the second successive month due to weaker demand in the education service, the health and social welfare and the eatery and lodging sectors, government data showed Monday.
* Libya's National Oil Corporation (NOC) announced on Sunday that its oil production has reached 1.3 million barrels in the past 24 hours, following a restoration of production levels to those before the country's central bank crisis.
* The World Health Organization said on Monday it had approved Bavarian Nordic's BAVA.CO mpox vaccine for adolescents aged 12 to 17 years, an age group considered especially vulnerable to outbreaks of the disease that has triggered global concern.
