JERUSALEM -- Israeli Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi said on Monday that the annexation of the occupied West Bank is currently not on the government's agenda.

"It is not on the agenda for today or tomorrow," Ashkenazi told Kan Bet Radio days after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's target-date on July 1 for the beginning of controversial plan had slipped by. (Israel-FM-West Bank)

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JERUSALEM -- The number of coronavirus cases in Israel has reached 30,162, after the state's Ministry of Health reported 204 new cases on Monday.

According to the ministry, the number of death cases increased from 331 to 332, while the number of recoveries rose to 17,974 with 24 new recoveries. (Israel-COVID-19)

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MANILA -- The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) on Monday raised the alert level for Bulusan volcano to 1, saying the volcano located in the southeast of Manila "is currently in an abnormal condition."

In a bulletin, the institute said it recorded a total of 53 volcanic earthquakes since July 3, including 43 "low-frequency events that are associated with weak and shallow hydrothermal or magmatic gas activity within the edifice." (Philippines-Volcano-Alert)

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TEHRAN -- Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Monday that the Islamic republic will spares no efforts to support the Palestinian cause, official IRNA news agency reported.

"The Palestinian resistance has been able to thwart the U.S. and Israeli plots," Khamenei wrote in response to a letter of Ismail Haniyeh, politburo chief of Hamas movement. (Iran-Khamenei-Palestinian Cause)

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TOKYO -- More torrential rain continued to batter Japan's southwestern region of Kyushu on Monday following the weekend's deluge, triggering flooding and mudslides as the death toll rose to 44 in the hard-hit Kumamoto Prefecture.

According to the prefectural government, 14 of the 44 fatalities were from a nursing home near the Kuma River, which overflowed and caused extensive flooding. It added that one is without vital signs and 10 others remain missing with rescuers racing against the clock to save lives. (Japan-Flood-Deaths)

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COLOMBO -- Over 100,000 people have been affected by an ongoing drought in parts of Sri Lanka due to the lack of monsoonal rains, Sri Lankan Disaster Management Center said in its latest situation update here Monday.

According to the report, 103,219 persons in 31,580 families were affected by the drought in Kurunegala and Polonnaruwa in the north-central province, Batticaloa and Trincomalee in the East, Hambantota in the south and Mullaitivu in the north. (Sri Lanka-Drought) Enditem

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