BRUSSELS -- The European Union (EU) on Sunday pledged 30 million euros (35.4 million U.S. dollars) in additional funding for the Lebanese people after a devastating explosion hit the capital Beirut last Tuesday.

The pledge, made at the international conference on assistance and support to the Middle East country, was meant to help address the immediate needs of those affected by the explosion, said the European Commission in a press release. (EU-Lebanon-Explosions)

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SYDNEY -- The Australian share market closed near a three-week high on Monday following an encouraging decline in the U.S. unemployment rate and an extension of key economic support measures by President Donald Trump.

At the market close the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index was up 105.40 points or 1.76 percent at 6,110.20, while the broader All Ordinaries index was up 102.20 points or 1.66 percent at 6,247.10. (Australia-Shares)

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HANOI -- Vietnam exported nearly 6.1 billion U.S. dollars of wood and wood-based products in the first seven months of this year, up 6.2 percent against the same period last year, according to the Vietnam Administration of Forestry on Monday.

In July alone, the country reaped nearly 1.1 billion U.S. dollars from exporting wood and wood-based products, surging 20.7 percent on-year. (Vietnam-Wood Export)

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SEOUL -- Foreign investors turned into net buyers in the South Korean stock market for the first time in six months, financial watchdog data showed Monday.

Foreigners bought a net 582 billion won (490 million U.S. dollars) worth of domestic stocks in July, according to the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS).

Offshore investors had been net sellers for five straight months through June on worry about the economic fallout from the COVID-19 outbreak across the world. (S.Korea-Stocks)