Russia has significantly expanded its entry ban list mainly targetting European officials, in response to the European Union's recent 17th and 18th package of sanctions against the country, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.

The Council of the European Union approved the 17th and 18th packages of sanctions on Russia on May 20 and July 18, respectively, over its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Afghan national army has thwarted attempts to smuggle drugs and detained three alleged drug smugglers in the southern Afghanistan Helmand province, said an army spokesman in the region, Jawed Agha, on Tuesday.

The contraband, which included 730 kg of opium poppy and was placed in the cavities of a vehicle, was identified and confiscated by the army personnel, the official added.

As rains continue to sweep across Laos, the government has issued warnings of an increased risk of flash floods and landslides.

The warnings were issued as Typhoon Wipha, the sixth typhoon of the year, is expected to bring heavy rainfall, strong winds, and thunderstorms across the country. Citizens were advised to closely follow official forecasts and warnings, according to a report from the Department of Meteorology and Hydrology, under the Lao Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, on Tuesday.

The Indonesian government has taken stern legal action against those allegedly responsible for forest fires, aiming to create a deterrent effect and strengthen preventative measures, a top official said in a statement issued on Tuesday.

Head of the National Disaster Management and Mitigation Agency (BNPB), Suharyanto revealed that a total of 16 individuals have been named as suspects for allegedly setting forest fires.

At least 221 people have been killed and 592 others injured across Pakistan as heavy monsoon rains triggered flash floods and other rain-related incidents since late June, the country's disaster management authority has said.

In its latest situation report on Monday, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) said the casualties were recorded between June 26 and July 21, with five new deaths and 10 injuries reported in the past 24 hours.

The eastern province of Punjab was the worst affected, with 135 fatalities and 470 injuries. In the northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 46 people lost their lives and 69 others were injured.

South Korea's Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol said on Tuesday that he will hold so-called "2+2" high-level trade talks with the United States later this week, ahead of the looming August 1 deadline for bilateral negotiations on the US' sweeping tariff measures.

Koo said he and Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo will head to Washington for the talks set to be held Friday, involving US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and US Trade Representative (USTR) Jamieson Greer.

"With the August 1 deadline fast approaching, relevant ministries have formed a unified team to respond with a well-coordinated and practical strategy for the national interest," Koo told reporters following a meeting on key economic affairs.

When asked about Seoul's negotiation strategy, Koo, who also serves as deputy Prime Minister for economic affairs, declined to elaborate, news agency reported.

Koo's upcoming visit will mark the first trip to Washington by South Korea's highest economic official since President Lee Jae Myung came into office on June 4. Koo officially assumed his post as finance minister on Monday.

The death toll in the Bangladesh Air Force jet crash climbed to 27, twenty-five of the deceased being students, authorities announced on Tuesday.

According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the media division of the South Asia nation's Armed Forces, the Air Force's F-7 BGI training aircraft took off at 1:06 p.m. (local time) on Monday and crashed into the Milestone School and College building in Dhaka's Uttara around 1.30 p.m.

Addressing a press briefing on Tuesday morning, Sayedur Rahman, special assistant to the chief advisor at the National Burn and Plastic Surgery Institute in Dhaka, confirmed the update on the casualties.

He further stated that at least 78 people are receiving treatment at different hospitals, and five are in critical condition.

"Among the deceased, 25 are children -- many under the age of 12 -- with extensive burn injuries. The other two victims include the aircraft's pilot and a female schoolteacher," the leading Bangladeshi newspaper, The Daily Star, quoted Rahman as saying.

The Hong Kong Observatory on Monday morning cancelled all warning signals for tropical cyclones as Wipha, the sixth typhoon of this year, left the city.

Transportation services are resuming in Hong Kong. The Hong Kong link road of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge reopened to all vehicles from midnight on Monday, said the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government.

Airport Authority Hong Kong said the three runways and all apron facilities at the Hong Kong International Airport are functioning well. Many flights were rescheduled on Sunday due to the typhoon. From 8:00 p.m. Sunday to 6:00 a.m. On Monday, a total of 120 flights arrived and 114 departed.

The Hong Kong Observatory forecast rainstorms and big waves on Monday in the wake of the typhoon and alerted residents to stay vigilant and stay away from the coasts, news agency reported.

South Korea will work to achieve the "best possible" outcome in the ongoing tariff negotiations with the United States in terms of national interest, the country's new industry minister said on Monday, with less than two weeks left until the August 1 deadline for trade talks with the Donald Trump administration.

"We are in a very serious situation with all possibilities on the table in the ongoing tariff negotiations with the U.S.," Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan said, reports news agency.

"The industry ministry is currently refining its negotiation strategy in close collaboration with other relevant ministries and will put in all-out efforts to ensure the trade talks are concluded smoothly."

The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said it killed a militant from Hezbollah's elite Radwan Forces in southern Lebanon on Saturday, using a military aircraft.

The IDF stated that the militant was involved in efforts to reestablish Hezbollah's militant infrastructure in the town of Al-Khiam, located in southern Lebanon.

It claimed that his activities constitute a violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon.