China's central bank cut key interest rates in a surprise move Monday aimed at injecting new life into its ailing property sector, while the ruling Communist Party released details of a top-level meeting focused on strategies for revving up the slowing economy.

The People's Bank of China cut the five-year loan prime rate, which is a benchmark for mortgages, by 10 basis points to 3.85% from 3.95%. The one-year loan prime rate, or LPR, was reduced to 3.35% from 3.45%.

European markets opened with gains Monday after President Joe Biden exited the 2024 race, while Asian shares mostly fell.

Biden announced his withdrawal from the 2024 presidential race on Sunday and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris to take on former President Donald Trump, adding to uncertainties over the future of the world's largest economy.

The Israeli military said that one person was killed after he attempted to stab Israeli security forces with a knife at the entrance to an Israeli town along the Gaza border on Monday morning.

According to Israel’s Army Radio, the attacker arrived at the security checkpoint by car and in English started accusing Israel of carrying out atrocities in Gaza, before reaching into his car and taking out a knife. Security forces shot and killed the man. There were no other injuries reported.

Joe Biden's withdrawal from the U.S. presidential race injects greater uncertainty into the world at a time when Western leaders are grappling with wars in Ukraine and Gaza, a more assertive China in Asia and the rise of the far-right in Europe.

During a five-decade career in politics, Biden developed extensive personal relationships with multiple foreign leaders that none of the potential replacements on the Democratic ticket can match. After his announcement, messages of support and gratitude for his years of service poured in from near and far.

The Israeli military on Monday ordered the evacuation of part of an area in the Gaza Strip it has designated a humanitarian zone.

The military said it is planning to begin an operation against Hamas militants who have embedded themselves in the area and used it to launch rockets toward Israel. The area includes the eastern part of the Muwasi humanitarian zone, which is located in the southern Gaza Strip.

Israeli airstrikes killed at least 15 people, including women and children overnight in Gaza, according to hospital officials and a body count by an Associated Press journalist.

The latest strikes occurred as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu prepared to leave Monday for the United States, where he is expected to meet with President Joe Biden and address Congress to make his case for the nine-month war against Hamas while cease-fire negotiations continue. A team will be sent to continue talks on Thursday, Netanyahu's office said.

Rescuers on Monday were searching for dozens missing after heavy rains caused flash flooding and a bridge collapse in different parts of China, killing at least 25 people.

Flash flooding tore through a village in southwestern Sichuan province in the middle of the night Saturday, and rescuers said 10 people died and they were searching for another 29 missing. Days of heavy rain swelled the river that runs through the village of Xinhua in Hanyuan county. The water swept away 40 houses on the riverbank, according to local media, while also breaking bridges and cutting off roads.

President Joe Biden's decision to step down as the Democratic Party's nominee for president opens the door for other contenders to become the Democratic nominee in November. The president has thrown his support behind Vice President Kamala Harris, and other prominent Democrats moved quickly to rally around her candidacy, but it's unclear just how smooth her path to the party's nomination is. Here are some of the leading contenders for a spot on the Democratic ticket:

Kamala Harris

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu left for Washington on Monday, leaving behind a brutal war to make a politically precarious speech before Congress at a time of great uncertainty following Joe Biden's withdrawal from the presidential race.

Before stepping on the plane, Netanyahu said that regardless of who will be the next president, "our enemies must know that Israel and the United States stand together tomorrow and always." He added that he intended to meet with President Biden and thank him for more than 40 years of friendship, while pushing him on certain issues where Netanyahu wants to receive more support.

A Lebanese photojournalist who was severely wounded during an Israeli strike on south Lebanon carried Sunday the Olympic torch in Paris to honor journalists wounded and killed in the field.

The torch relay, which started in May, is part of celebrations in which about 10,000 people from various walks of life were chosen to carry the flame across France before the Games opening ceremony on July 26.