Lebanon and Israel, still technically at war, begin unprecedented talks sponsored by the UN and Washington on Wednesday to settle a maritime border dispute and clear the way for hydrocarbon exploration.

Johnson & Johnson announced on Monday it had temporarily paused its COVID-19 vaccine clinical trials due to an unexplained illness in a study participant. The participant's illness is being reviewed and evaluated by an independent data and safety monitoring board as well as the company's clinical and safety physicians, the company said in a statement. It declined to elaborate about the illness due to privacy concerns.

The US President Donald Trump on Monday returned to the campaign trail for his first official rally since he contracted the coronavirus, dpa reported. "I feel so powerful," Trump told thousands of cheering supporters in Sanford,Florida, joking that he would "kiss the guys and the beautiful women" in the audience.

Israel's Cabinet on Monday unanimously approved the historic deal normalizing ties with the United Arab Emirates (UAE), signed last month, paving the way for its ratification, dpa reported. A statement from PM Benjamin Netanyahu's office said that all ministers voted in favour of the so-called Abraham Accords, which the administration of US President Donald Trump has dubbed peace treaties.

The coronavirus that causes Covid-19 can survive on items such as banknotes and phones for up to 28 days in cool, dark conditions, a study by Australia's national science agency shows. Researchers at CSIRO's disease preparedness centre tested the longevity of SARS-CoV-2 in the dark at three temperatures, showing survival rates decreased as conditions became hotter, the agency said Monday.

Belarusian police detained numerous protesters on Sunday during demonstrations against President Alexander Lukashenko in Minsk, in what observers called the most violent crackdown seen in weeks, dpa reported.

Kyrgyzstan on Saturday put its former president Almazbek Atambayev back in jail while a populist politician, Sadyr Japarov, became acting prime minister as an ongoing political crisis rocked the Central Asian country.

India’s confirmed coronavirus toll crossed 7 million on Sunday with a number of new cases dipping in recent weeks, even as health experts warn of mask and distancing fatigue setting in.

Tens of thousands of Israelis calling on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to resign demonstrated across the country Saturday evening, saying he is unfit to rule while on trial for corruption charges and accusing him of mismanaging the nation’s coronavirus crisis.

North Korea unveiled previously unseen intercontinental ballistic missiles at an unprecedented predawn military parade on Saturday that showcased the country’s long-range weapons for the first time in two years.