Blaming Ukraine for destabilisation in the Black Sea region, Russian Presidential aide and Maritime Board Chairman, Nikolay Patrushev, on Tuesday said that both Moscow and Washington are interested in ensuring the security of maritime traffic and the next step should be made by Kyiv.

"Clearly, the activities of Ukraine's armed forces and mercenaries are the main destabilising factor in the Black Sea region," Patrushev said in an interview with the Russian state-run news agency Tass.

He further added that the Kyiv regime repeatedly showed that it is impossible to negotiate with.

"At the same time, as we have already learned from practice, Kyiv has repeatedly demonstrated its total inability to negotiate with," said the Kremlin aide.

A devastating fire tore through a restaurant in Liaoyang City, located in northeast China's Liaoning Province, on Tuesday afternoon, claiming the lives of 22 people and leaving three others injured, according to state media.

The cause of the blaze has not yet been disclosed as authorities continue investigations into the tragedy.

The fire reportedly broke out at 12:25 p.m. local time in a restaurant situated within a residential area, state broadcaster CCTV said.

Chinese President Xi Jinping called for "all-out efforts" to ensure that the injured receive the best possible medical care and instructed officials to strengthen fire safety measures nationwide, news agency reports.

The South Korea's Supreme Court said on Tuesday that it will rule on the election law violation case of the Democratic Party (DP) presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung later this week.

The ruling will be made at 3 pm Thursday, the court said, just four days after Lee won the DP's primary for the June 3 presidential election.

The announcement comes after prosecutors appealed a high court ruling last month that acquitted Lee of lying as a presidential candidate during the 2022 election and overturned a lower court's sentence of a suspended prison term.

The case has posed a major legal hurdle for Lee, who is considered the front-runner in the upcoming presidential election.

Iran's Foreign Ministry strongly condemned the US deadly airstrikes on Yemen's capital of Sanaa and Saada province, including a centre where African migrants were kept.

In a statement, Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei denounced Sunday's bombings, which killed at least 78 people, including 68 African migrants held at a detention centre in Saada, and wounded dozens of others.

Baghaei described the US military attacks against civilian targets, vital infrastructure and people's houses in different parts of Yemen as "war crimes," "which have killed hundreds of innocent people."

He criticised the United Nations and international human rights organisations for their "silence and indifference towards this flagrant law-breaking and the frequent violations of Yemen's sovereignty and territorial integrity."

The Committee set up by the Iranian Authorities to investigate the cause of the massive explosion at Shahid Rajaee port in the Hormozgan province, which claimed 70 lives, reported that there was a "failure to observe safety procedures" at the port.

In a statement on Monday evening, the Committee to Investigate the Causes of the Fire Incident in Shahid Rajaee Port stated that after conducting several meetings with experts in different fields, it was concluded that the reason for the tragic incident was "the failure to observe safety principles and passive defence standards" as confirmed to the committee members, the semi-official News Agency reported.

"There have been discrepancies in some cases, and the security and judicial bodies are seriously seeking to identify the wrongdoers," it added.

"Determining the cause of this incident requires a thorough and fully-fledged investigation of its various aspects, which, due to expert requirements, requires technical and laboratory processes; however, without wasting time, its implementation steps are being pursued, and the final results will be revealed to the public as soon as possible," the committee concluded.

The recent depreciation of the South Korean won against the US dollar may add short-term pressure on inflation, but its overall impact is likely to be less significant than that of domestic factors, a state-run think tank said on Tuesday.

The won-greenback exchange rate has remained above the 1,400-won level -- a threshold not seen since 2009 -- following the shocking, albeit brief, martial law imposition by ousted former President Yoon Suk Yeol in December. The rate has faced further pressure following new tariff measures implemented by the Donald Trump administration.

"The impact of a strong U.S. dollar on import prices tends to diminish over time, while domestic factors behind the won's depreciation generally have a more lasting and pronounced effect on consumer prices," the Korea Development Institute (KDI) said in its latest report, reports news agency.

In March, the country's consumer prices, a key indicator of inflation, rose 2.1 percent on-year, remaining in the 2 percent range for the third consecutive month.

The Philippines on Monday condemned the latest Chinese activities around Sandy Cay, emphasising that the area is part of its territory and no Chinese provocation will change that.

Chinese personnel reportedly raised a Chinese flag and conducted inspection activities on Sandy Cay, a sandbar located near Pag-asa Island, which is within the Philippines' Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).

Speaker of the House of Representatives in the Philippines, Romualdez termed the Chinese actions as "desperate and cheap stunts" designed to mislead and bolster illegitimate claims, state-run news agency PNA reported.

"I strongly denounce the latest actions of the China Coast Guard (CCG) in and around Sandy Cay, an area well within the Philippines' EEZ and unquestionably part of Philippine sovereignty," Romualdez said in a statement.

One person died, and several others were injured on Sunday when a boat collided with a ferry off the Memorial Causeway Bridge in Florida's Clearwater, US, before fleeing the scene, authorities said.

The Clearwater Police Department announced on X that there were multiple injuries and that the crash had been declared "a mass casualty incident" by the Clearwater Fire & Rescue Department due to the number of people hurt.

All those injured were aboard the ferry, which was carrying more than 40 passengers at the time of the crash. Police have not yet released any details about the person who died in the incident.

Bangladesh is grappling with an economic crisis under the interim government led by Muhammad Yunus, as the banks are unable to circulate new currency notes to meet the demands in the country, local media reported on Monday.

The crisis emerged with the political transition after the ouster of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina following a violent uprising last year.

The new notes in the hands of Bangladesh banks are not coming to the market because all types of money and coins feature the image of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, according to a report by the leading Bangladeshi daily, Prothom Alo.

Due to this situation, citizens are facing financial losses as they do not have access to new notes. Shops and banks are also being flooded with torn and old dirty notes.

Trade Minister Cheong In-kyo said on Monday the government will make all-out efforts to attract more foreign investment and support the return of local firms from overseas.

Cheong made the remarks during a policy coordination meeting with local government leaders and officials from the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA), according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, reports news agency.

"Expanding foreign direct investment (FDI) and supporting reshoring companies are keys to enhancing national industrial competitiveness and revitalising regional economies, even in the face of abrupt changes in global trade conditions," Cheong said.

He further pledged continued policy support in close cooperation with local governments and free economic zones. In 2024, South Korea attracted a record high US$32.57 billion in FDI, the highest since records began in 1962, according to the ministry.