Wong rose to prominence in 2020 as co-chair of the pandemic taskforce and was named Lee's successor in April 2022 after a series of consultations between the political leadership and Wong's peers.

The 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations has led so far fruitless diplomatic efforts to solve the conflict unleashed by the military's putsch, which has displaced 2.7 million people, according to the United Nations. 

China and Russia declared a "no limits" partnership in February 2022 when Putin visited Beijing just days before he sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine, triggering the deadliest land war in Europe since World War Two.

Wong, 51, comes from among a crop of so-called "4G" leaders, a new generation of politicians hand-picked by the long-ruling People's Action Party (PAP) to take over the reins of the key Asian trade and financial centre. 

Some 40 percent of registered voters in the eight-day poll, which closed on Tuesday, said they would vote for Biden, a Democrat, if the election were held today, with the same share picking former President Trump. The dead heat was little changed from a 1 point lead that Biden held in a Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted April 29-30.

Figures in robes and caps, some waving Palestinian flags, were seen filing out of crowds of graduates assembled on the grass in the North Carolina University's football stadium in the video posted on X. Reuters was able to verify the video's date and location.

Biden, a self-described Zionist, had long resisted stopping any of the $3 billion in weapons the United States sends each year to Israel -- and pushed Congress for an increase in the wake of the October 7 attack by Hamas that triggered the major Israeli retaliation.

Student bodies have changed, as has the Democratic Party. But given the tight rematch incumbent President Joe Biden, a Democrat, faces with Republican Donald Trump, they could hold political sway.

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, a 59-year-old four-time premier who came back to power after his Smer-SD party won a general election last year, chaired a government meeting in the central town of Handlova. Shots were fired after the meeting.

"Volodymyr Zelensky has instructed that all international events scheduled for the coming days be postponed and new dates coordinated," Sergii Nykyforov said in a post on Facebook.

Wilders, who has influenced Dutch immigration policy from the opposition benches since 2006 and is known for his outspoken views on Islam, was expected to announce a four-party coalition later in the day.

Xi began his trip earlier this week in France, a visit that was cordial but also highlighted tensions between Beijing and the EU over the war in Ukraine and global trade.

Treasury officials from Washington visited Malaysia last week to discuss their worries that the Palestinian group was fundraising there.

The administration informally notified the weapons package to Congress, which will need to approve it, a US official said, while a congressional aide who also requested anonymity said the weapons bought from US weapons makers amounted to around $1 billion.

Shortly after arriving at the Al Shati presidential palace in Dubai, Prabowo began his conversation with MBZ by introducing Gibran to the Gulf country's leader.