Apple has reportedly asked its Taiwan-based suppliers to ensure shipments to China don't carry the label 'Made in Taiwan', in a bid to avoid disruptions from Chinese customs inspections after the visit of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taipei. The report stated that Apple asked manufacturers to label components as "Chinese Taipei" or "Taiwan, China".

The Chinese military on Monday announced fresh drills in the seas and airspace around Taiwan, amid heightened tensions over US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi's recent visit to Taipei. This came a day after the scheduled end of the biggest-ever military exercises held by China near Taiwan. Condemning the move, Taiwan said it 'won't be afraid or back down'.

Sri Lanka has given approval for Lanka Indian Oil Corporation (LIOC) to open 50 new fuel stations to help reduce severe fuel shortages in Sri Lanka. LIOC already has 216 fuel stations in Sri Lanka and will invest about ₹200 crore on the expansion. We're more than willing to support and work with Sri Lanka, said LIOC MD Manoj Gupta.

A sinkhole which opened up mysteriously a few days ago in Chile has doubled in size, growing large enough to engulf the world's tallest statue, the Statue of Unity at 182 metres in Gujarat. The sinkhole now goes down 200 metres and stretches across 50 metres. The National Service of Geology and Mining said it is still investigating the sinkhole.

Australia's national carrier Qantas Airways has asked its executives and managers from the head office to work as full-time baggage handlers for three months, amid a critical shortage of labour. Qantas COO said the airline needs 100 volunteers from its management staff to handle baggage. The shortage had forced the airline to cancel 8.1% of scheduled domestic services in June.

Petro Kotin, chief of Ukraine's state-run nuclear power company Energoatom, has called for the deployment of UN peacekeepers at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant following renewed shelling that reportedly hit the plant twice in recent days. "We demand from the world community... to withdraw the invaders(Russian forces) from the territory of the station and create a demilitarised zone," Kotin stated.

Almost 1 lakh tourists are expected to remain stranded in China's Hainan for at least a week amid a coronavirus outbreak. This comes as China locked down more areas in Hainan on Monday, according to state media. "We just hope it won’t turn into another Shanghai," a tourist said referring to Shanghai's two-month lockdown, which was lifted in June.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday stated that if Russia proceeds with conducting referendums in the occupied regions of his country over joining Russia, there could be no talks with Ukraine or its international allies. He added that Ukraine won't yield any territory to Russia. Russia exercises control over several territories in Ukraine's Donbas region and Kherson.

Hong Kong will cut the COVID-19 hotel quarantine period to three days from August 12, Chief Executive John Lee has announced. Following the hotel quarantine, travellers will undergo another four days of "medical surveillance" either at home or at any hotel. "We need to balance between people's livelihood and...competitiveness of Hong Kong to give...community maximum momentum," Lee said.

Eleven-time Olympic medallist Allyson Felix has said that the US Supreme Court's judgement to end the constitutional right to an abortion is "shocking". "We're trying to move forward and not take steps back," Felix said. The US sprinter added, "I want my daughter to grow up in a world where there is a true sense of equality."

China said on Monday that it is continuing military drills in the seas and skies around Taiwan. People's Liberation Army's (PLA) Eastern Theatre Command said on Chinese social media platform Weibo that it will practice conducting anti-submarine attacks and sea raids. China started carrying out military drills in retaliation to US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan.

London Police strip-searched 650 children over a two-year period, new data by the police force has shown. More than 95% of those who were strip-searched were boys and 58% of them were Black by race, the data stated. Reacting to the data, England’s commissioner for children, Rachel de Souza, said she was "extremely concerned" at the ethnic imbalance.

Italian army on Sunday detonated a World War II bomb, which was found in dried-up River Po, in a controlled explosion on Sunday. A video of the incident has surfaced online. The bomb was found on the river bank by fishermen "due to...decrease in water levels caused by drought", a colonel said. About 3,000 people were evacuated, the army said.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Monday called for international inspectors to be granted access to Ukraine's nuclear power plant Zaporizhzhia. The request comes after Ukraine and Russia accused each other of shelling the facility. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has accused Russia of unleashing "nuclear terror" and called for global sanctions on Russia's nuclear sector.

Spain's state-owned rail operator Renfe said in a statement on Monday that it has suspended the bullet train between the country's capital city Madrid and the second largest city Barcelona due to the theft of cables. An alternate train route has been established between the two cities for travellers which will bypass the high-speed network, the company said.

US President Joe Biden on Monday said that he was angered and saddened by the "horrific killings" of four Muslim men in New Mexico's Albuquerque. Earlier, the state's governor Michelle Lujan Grisham had called the attacks "targeted killings". Biden added that his administration "stands strongly" with the Muslim community. "These hateful attacks have no place in America," he further said.

Authorities in China's Hainan province locked down more areas on Monday. The island province, located in the South China Sea, reported more than 1,500 domestically transmitted cases of COVID-19 this month including 1,000 symptomatic ones. This is the biggest outbreak in Hainan since the virus was first reported in Wuhan in late 2019.

The Taliban are obstructing German government's efforts to evacuate former Afghan workers, political activists and others at risk, a report in news magazine Der Spiegel said. Germany planned to evacuate 7,700 people between July and mid-September, however, only 1,044 Afghans could be brought to the country in July. Germany said 10,000 Afghans who were promised evacuation are still in Afghanistan.

Amid a spike in violence in Haiti's capital city Port-au-Prince, the Caribbean country's PM Ariel Henry said on Sunday that former senator Yvon Buissereth was killed by gangs in the capital's Laboule area. Yvon was killed while police battled with gangs, reported Reuters. "[Yvon's] killers, as well as...all other criminals who sow mourning...will be fully prosecuted," Haitian PM Henry said.

China and Thailand will resume an annual joint air combat exercise later this month that was on hold for two years during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Thai Air Force said. The "Falcon Strike" exercise will be held at a former US air base in Thailand's Udon Thani. The exercise will begin on August 14 and last for 11 days.

Turkey and Ukraine said two more ships departed from Ukrainian Black Sea ports. Sacura is carrying 11,000 tonnes of soybeans to Italy and Arizona is carrying 48,458 tonnes of corn to Turkey, Turkish defence ministry said. The UN and Turkey brokered a deal between Ukraine and Russia after warnings that halt in grain shipments could result in severe food shortages.

Iranian police have arrested an Afghan national who is suspected of stabbing 10 people to death in a village following a quarrel over land, state media IRNA reported on Monday. Four Iranians and six Afghan nationals were killed in the incident and one farm worker was injured, the report added. The accused was reportedly mentally unstable.

One of the first grain ships to leave Ukraine, Polarnet, arrived in Turkey on Monday. "[The ship's arrival] sends a message...to every family in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia: Ukraine won't abandon you," Ukrainian Foreign Affairs Minister Dmytro Kuleba tweeted. The first ship that left Ukraine, Razoni, still hasn't reached its destination in Lebanon, according to Marine Traffic website.

At least nine people were injured in a shooting outside a bar in US' Cincinnati on Sunday, police said. A police officer fired one round at a suspect, who then fled the spot, a police official said. The police, however, believe that there were two shooters as more shots were fired after the first suspect fled, the police official added.

Bangladeshi PM Sheikh Hasina on Sunday reaffirmed the country's support for 'One China' policy, adding that Dhaka values its friendship with Beijing. The announcement came as China and Bangladesh signed four Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) and agreements following Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi's visit to Dhaka. Yi said China would support issues involving Bangladesh in international forums.