* The historic meeting between Kim Jong Un, the Chairman of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), and US President Donald Trump at the truce village of Panmunjom made a new breakthrough in the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, DPRK state media reported Monday (July 1). Meanwhile, Trump told reporters following the meeting that the United States will resume working-level dialogue with the DPRK.
* Leaders of the EU's 28 member states started gathering on Sunday afternoon to deliberate on nominees for the president of the European Commission, the president of the European Council who chairs meetings of EU member state leaders, the speaker of the European Parliament, EU's foreign policy chief and the president of the European Central Bank.
* At least 26 people were killed and 10 others injured Monday after a bus they aboard skidded off the mountainous road and fell into a deep gorge in Indian-controlled Kashmir, police said.
* Japanese meteorological authorities issued evacuation orders and advisories to around 1.2 million people in southwestern Kyushu region on Monday, warning that heavy rain could cause landslides and flooding in low-lying areas.
* US President Donald Trump suggested facilitating dialogue with Moscow to mend bilateral ties when he met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Japan's Osaka, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Sunday. The two presidents held a meeting on Friday (June 28) on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Japan, which Peskov said was rather "positive and constructive."
* Single-use plastic bags were officially banned for all New Zealand retailers from Monday. As stipulated by the Waste Minimisation (Plastic Shopping Bags) Regulations 2018, which came into force on Monday, New Zealand retailers including stores, supermarkets and restaurants will no longer be able to sell or distribute any single-use plastic shopping bags.
* Syria's air defenses were triggered on Sunday evening by a fresh Israeli missile attack that targeted military sites around the capital Damascus and in the central province of Homs, state TV reported.
* Jordan on Sunday underlined the need to intensify efforts to reach a political solution to the Syrian crisis in line with UN Security Council Resolution 2254.
* The Russian government has allocated financial assistance totaling RUB980 million (US$15.5 million) to victims of a heavy flood in the country's Irkutsk region in southeastern Siberia, the regional official portal said Sunday.
* Security forces in Ethiopia have arrested around 300 people suspected of being involved a failed coup attempt on June 22, an Ethiopian official said on Sunday.
* Israeli and US researchers have developed an artificial intelligence (AI) method that can help crops cope with climate changes, the Ben Gurion University (BGU) reported Sunday.
