BEIRUT, July 31 (Xinhua) -- Lebanon announced on Monday to suspend cultural cooperation with Sweden and Denmark in protest against the desecration of the Quran in the two Nordic countries, the National News Agency (NNA) reported.

"The Ministry of Culture suspends all cultural cooperation with Sweden and Denmark and their embassies in Beirut until the two countries' authorities take appropriate measures to correct the incident," the NNA quoted Culture Minister Mohammad Wissam Mortada as saying.

KUALA LUMPUR, Jul 31 (NNN-BERNAMA) – Malaysia’s population is expected to grow 2.1 percent, this year, led by international migration, official data showed today.

The Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) said in a statement that, the total population of Malaysia in 2023 is estimated at 33.4 million, as compared to 32.7 million in 2022.

According to the DOSM, the increase in population growth rate is due to the higher number of non-citizens, which is likely to increase from 2.5 million in 2022 to three million this year.

27 July 2023; MEMO: Saudi Arabia opened its first mangrove nursery on Wednesday, which is targeting to plant 50 million trees by 2030 in the fight against desertification, Anadolu Agency reports.

John Pagano, Chief Executive of Red Sea Global, the developer behind the project, said they aim to grow the trees in partnership with the National Centre for Vegetation Cover, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

KHAR, Pakistan (AP) — Hundreds of mourners in northwestern Pakistan carried caskets draped in colorful cloths to burial sites in the hills Monday after a suicide bombing killed at least 54 people at an election rally for a pro-Taliban cleric.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for Sunday’s bombing in Bajur that killed at least five children and wounded nearly 200 people.

30 July 2023; MEMO: Rapid Support Forces (RSF) Commander Mohammed Hamdan Daglo, who has been fighting the army since April, said Sunday that the group is ready to reach a deal within 72 hours if there is a change in the army's leadership, reports Anadolu Agency.

Daglo announced in a video recording on the RSF's social media account that it is ready to reach an agreement if the army's chief commander surrenders.

TOKYO, July 31 (Xinhua) -- The Japanese finance ministry on Monday reported a surplus of 3.48 trillion yen (about 24.5 billion U.S. dollars) in the country's special account for forex funds in the fiscal year of 2022.

Intended for specific purposes such as currency interventions, the amount registered during the fiscal period from April 2022 to March 2023 was about 641 billion yen more than the government's initial estimate.

Analysts here believe this would prompt calls for the government's plans to increase taxes to be delayed, local media reported.

GENEVA, July 31. TASS/: Civilians should not be deliberately targeted, UN Human Rights Office Spokesperson Elizabeth Throssell told TASS in connection with Ukrainian shelling of civilian infrastructure in Taganrog.

TEHRAN, Jul 31 (NNN-IRNA) – Iranian Foreign Minister, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, met with visiting UN special envoy for Iraq yesterday, in the capital, Tehran, to discuss Iraq developments.

During the meeting, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert commented on developments in and outside Iraq, and highlighted Iran’s constructive role regarding the Arab country, according to a statement from the Iranian Foreign Ministry.

NIAMEY, July 31 (Reuters) - In 2011, after two decades climbing the ranks of Niger's army, Abdourahamane Tiani was handed one of the military's most prized appointments: the head of an elite unit set up to protect the president.

Last week, Tiani, a general, used his position and manpower to do the opposite. He imprisoned President Mohamed Bazoum in the presidential palace and appeared on state television on Friday to declare himself head of state, confirming the seventh military coup in West and Central Africa in three years.

MOSCOW, July 31. /TASS/: Development of the economy is the basis to solve all tasks Russia is facing, President Vladimir Putin said at the meeting with Vyacheslav Volodin, the Speaker of the State Duma, the lower house of the Russian legislative assembly.

"In issues of social nature, economic development, the economy is the basis to solve generally all the tasks our country is facing," the head of state said.

28 July 2023; MEMO: In response to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's controversial judicial overhaul, the Director-General of Israel's Education Ministry, Asaf Zalal, has resigned from his position. In a statement, Zalal cited the deep divide within society, which prevents him from fulfilling his responsibilities as required.

27 July 2023; MEMO: Israel's UN ambassador said, on Thursday, that Palestinians "have no right to return" to their homes, Anadolu Agency reports.

"Let me be clear, there is no right of return. You all know this," Gilad Erdan told a UN Security Council meeting.

"The demand of millions of descendants of refugees returning to obliterate the Jewish people's right to self-determination and this will never happen."