LJUBLJANA -- NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on Monday called for higher defense spending to ensure security, as the alliance moves toward a goal of increasing collective defense investment.
Addressing the NATO Parliamentary Assembly in Ljubljana, Rutte said European allies and Canada "are now on a trajectory" to bring their defense spending closer to that of the United States. (Slovenia-NATO-Parliamentary Assembly)
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SHARM EL-SHEIKH -- A document to support the recently-reached Gaza ceasefire deal was signed in the Egyptian city of Sharm el-Sheikh on Monday by the deal's four mediators, though without the attendance of either Israel or Hamas.
The document was signed by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, U.S. President Donald Trump, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. (Egypt-Gaza-Ceasefire)
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JERUSALEM -- Israel's military said on Monday it was escorting into Israel the remains of four hostages handed over by Hamas in Gaza.
The deceased were among 28 bodies of hostages held in Gaza that were to be returned under the ceasefire agreement by Monday. It was not immediately clear when the remaining bodies would be returned. (Israel-Hamas-Hostages)
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JOHANNESBURG -- At least 40 people, including seven children, were killed in a bus accident in South Africa's Limpopo Province on Sunday evening, the country's Road Traffic Management Corporation said Monday.
Preliminary reports showed that the bus veered off the road along a steep mountain pass and rolled down an embankment. The victims were Zimbabwean and Malawian nationals on their way to homeland from the Eastern Cape Province, said the corporation. (South Africa-Road Accident) Enditem
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