More than 40,000 dengue cases have been reported so far this year in Sri Lanka, according to the latest statistics released by the National Dengue Control Unit (NDCU) on Tuesday.

The NDCU said that 40,109 cases had been reported with 19 fatalities so far,news agency reported.

The western province recorded the highest number of cases accounting for 42.3 per cent of the total.

The northern province had the second highest number of cases accounting for 12 per cent and the central province had the third highest with 10.3 per cent.

Hezbollah forces fired nearly 105 rockets toward Haifa Bay, the Upper Galilee, and Central Galilee on Tuesday, the Israeli military said, adding that interceptors were deployed to counter the attack.

A woman in her 70s was injured by shrapnel and taken to the hospital, the Magen David Adom rescue service reported.

In Kiryat Yam, a city north of Haifa, another rocket struck a residential building, Israeli state-owned Kan TV news reported.

"The majority of the projectiles were intercepted by the Israel Air Force Aerial Defence Array," the military said, noting that "multiple" rockets managed to hit the area as reported by news agency.

The United Kingdom's population reached 68.3 million in mid-2023, setting a new record, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said on Tuesday.

ONS data showed a one per cent increase, compared to the level in mid-2022, marking the highest population growth rate since the 1970s,news agency reported.

Despite the growth, the UK experienced a negative natural population change of -16,300, with more deaths than births, reflecting the country's low fertility rate.

Romania is set to enhance its air defence capabilities by acquiring four AN/MPQ-64 F1 Sentinel radar systems via the US Foreign Military Sales program, the Ministry of National Defence said.

These systems will be deployed within Romania's ground-based air defence battalions, boosting their ability to monitor the country's airspace and counter modern aerial threats, particularly those posed by unmanned aerial vehicles, according to a statement on Monday issued by the Ministry.

Besides radar systems, the procurement package includes comprehensive logistical support, communication equipment, training services, technical assistance, and transportation,news agency reported.

Romanian Defence Minister Angel Tilvar emphasised the strategic importance of this acquisition in light of regional security, especially the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.

South Korea will provide $500,000 in humanitarian aid to Nepal to help its relief efforts following devastating floods and landslides, Seoul's foreign ministry said on Tuesday.

More than 200 people were killed and dozens remain unaccounted for in Nepal after ferocious monsoon rains caused massive floods and landslides last week, according to foreign media reports, news agency reported.

"Our government hopes this aid will assist the recovery of the affected areas and help local residents return to their daily lives as soon as possible," the ministry said in a release.

International researchers have made important updates to an open-source software tool designed to evaluate earthquake forecasts.

These improvements provide governments and researchers with greater confidence in the validity of their earthquake forecasts, which is crucial for long-term planning and preparedness to increase resilience against the devastating effects of earthquakes, according to a study published on Tuesday,news agency reported.

An international team of 12 researchers, led by New Zealand's GNS Science, have recently made enhancements to PyCSEP, a quintessential open-source software package used to develop and evaluate earthquake forecasting experiments.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong held summit talks on Tuesday and agreed to strengthen cooperation in various sectors across supply chains, energy, bio and advanced technology.

Yoon and Wong discussed enhancing the resilience of critical sectors based on a supply chain partnership arrangement signed between the two countries on the sidelines of the summit during Yoon's three-day state visit to Singapore, Yonhap news agency reported.

It marks the first supply chain deal between the two nations, following a multilateral agreement signed by the 14 members of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, an economic initiative launched by the United States in May 2022.

Romania's National Liberal Party (PNL) has severed political ties with its coalition partner, the Social Democratic Party (PSD), but will remain in government, PNL Chairman Nicolae Ciuca said.

Ciuca said on Monday that political dialogue with the PSD had ceased, but the Liberals would stay in power to "protect democracy and freedom" ahead of the upcoming elections and ensure that the PSD has no control over key issues like a flat tax and financial management.

"There is no longer a way of dialogue with the PSD," he told local media B1 TV station, adding that he would not respond to any communication from Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu, the PSD leader.

Former national security officials warned on Tuesday that Australia is unprepared for the cascading and existential impacts of climate change.

The Melbourne-based Australian Security Leaders Climate Group, a coalition of former national security officials, said in a report that the Australian federal government must radically overhaul how it prepares for climate threats,news agency reported.

The report warned that climate change is certain to cause natural disasters to increase in frequency and intensity, which are likely to overwhelm the government's ability to help communities survive and recover.

"Today, unimaginable new climate extremes confront us: record-breaking droughts and floods, cruel heatwaves, unstoppable bushfires, broken infrastructure, and coastal inundation. Worse is to come," the report said.

"Responding adequately to the climate threat is fundamental to the survival of the nation."

Five people were killed and six others injured in a road accident in Pakistan's east Punjab province on Tuesday, police said.

The incident happened at the motorway near the provincial capital city of Lahore where a passenger bus collided with a van, Syed Imran, a spokesperson for motorway police told news agency.

According to preliminary investigations, the bus driver fell asleep at the wheel, causing his vehicle to rear-end the van, he said as reported by news agency.

While the bus sustained minimal damage, all the casualties were from the van, he added.