The new additions, including major companies, "have participated in enhancing Japan's military capabilities", the Chinese commerce ministry said in a statement.

Vanuatu is at the center of strategic rivalry between China and US allies in the South Pacific, and Australia has expressed concern that Beijing is seeking a permanent security presence in the region.

South Korea and Japan on Sunday reaffirmed their commitment to the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula and agreed to revive joint search-and-rescue drills in a step forward for security ties between the neighboring countries.

The removal marks the latest escalation in a years-long anti-corruption campaign initiated ​by President Xi Jinping that has seen ⁠scores of senior officials and ​top generals investigated, removed and purged.

The cooperation is aimed at producing outstanding graduates, who possess strong academic competencies in their respective fields, and demonstrate global perspective in international work ethic and adequate foreign language proficiency.

The hermetic nation is under multiple sets of sanctions over a nuclear programme its leaders have vowed to pursue as an essential deterrent to the United States and South Korea.

Australian authorities ramped up surveillance and testing after confirming two cases of the highly pathogenic H5N1 bird flu, while neighboring Papua New Guinea suspended all poultry imports from the country.

India, chair of the BRICS group, is hosting a meeting of the BRICS national security advisers in New Delhi on Monday and Tuesday.

The 71-year-old served as president from 2017 to 2022, capping decades of involvement in the political and armed struggle that led to the independence of the small Southeast Asian nation.

The two alleged shooters, aged 15 and 14, had fired "randomly" inside San Jose National High School, police Lieutenant Evalyn Diaz told AFP of the violence that sent terrified students running for cover.

Testing had confirmed the bird, found sick near Esperance, a town about 570 km southeast of Perth, the capital of Western Australia, had the deadly strain.

US President Donald Trump and his Iranian counterpart signed the deal on Wednesday, with a ceremony set for Friday in Switzerland that will mark the start of a 60-day negotiation period.

Foreign Minister Sugiono arrived in Kazan on Wednesday morning to attend the ASEAN-Russia Summit, where discussions on pressing regional and global issues are expected to take place over the two-day conference. 

HMS Tamar is forward deployed permanently in the Indo-Pacific region together with sister ship HMS Spey with a primary logistics hub in Singapore.

The development of the stockpile, a first for the Marine Corps in Australia, comes as the United States is keen to leverage the continent's strategic location in the South Pacific to counter China's rapid military build-up, analysts said.

"I am willing to continue strengthening our leadership (over our countries' bilateral ties), carry forward the brotherly friendship between our two peoples, deepen comprehensive strategic cooperation," Xi told his Myanmar counterpart, according to Chinese state broadcaster CCTV.

Sea surface temperatures in the region exceeded El Nino thresholds and atmospheric indicators all aligned with the phenomenon that brings extremes of weather, the Bureau of Meteorology said.

The commencement of discussions by the defense authorities of both countries to materialize the transfer of equipment including Asagiri-class destroyers will contribute to strengthening cooperation in the field of maritime security, Koizumi said.

Currently both the South Korean and Indonesian governments are deliberating the transfer mechanism of the KF-21 prototype, especially related to the technology and schedule.

Princess Bajrakitiyabha, known as Princess Bha, died aged 47 on Thursday after spending more than three years in a coma due to a cardiac condition.

A trained prosecutor and diplomat, Bajrakitiyabha was educated in Britain, Thailand and the United States, earning a law degree from Cornell University and serving for a time as Thailand's ambassador to Austria.

Frequent spats have soured ties between China and US ally the Philippines in the past few years, as Manila, under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, pushes back at what it sees as aggression by Beijing.

The possible transfer of Asagiri-class destroyers was discussed when Japanese and Indonesian defense ministers met in Jakarta during a meeting on May 3-4, when they signed a new Defense Cooperation Agreement (DCA).

President Prabowo Subianto has defended the frequency of his overseas trips, arguing that they are necessary to advance Indonesia’s active diplomacy and to maintain its nonaligned foreign policy amid intensifying global rivalries.

Rescuers in the southern Philippines pulled a body from the rubble of a collapsed supermarket on Wednesday, as the death toll from a major earthquake climbed to 46.

Foreign Minister Sugiono visited Myanmar on Monday, becoming the first Indonesian minister to travel to Naypyidaw since the 2021 military coup, in a move that signals Jakarta's willingness to re-engage with the junta while reaffirming support for ASEAN-led peace efforts.

The neighbors should strengthen strategic ties and firmly protect their sovereignty, security, and development interests, Xi told Kim, an official Chinese summary of the meeting showed, as Beijing looks to draw Pyongyang closer.

Indonesia has begun preparations for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s planned state visit next month, with Foreign Minister Sugiono visiting his Indian counterpart in New Delhi over the weekend to discuss cooperation between the two countries.

President Prabowo Subianto received letters of credence from eight foreign ambassadors in a ceremony at the Merdeka Palace on Monday afternoon, following public criticism over Jakarta’s delayed accreditation.

A series of powerful aftershocks rocked the area from about two hours after the first quake, according to the United States Geological Survey, with the largest measuring 6.5 magnitude.