Malaysia began repatriating around 1,500 Myanmar nationals on Tuesday, launching the first phase of a return program that has raised concerns from rights groups.

Thousands sheltered on Monday in evacuation centers in Thailand capital, parts of it still flooded after havoc brought by intense weekend rain, while swelling reservoirs in an eastern province triggered orders for more to leave their homes.

A funeral would be held on Monday evening, with Siti Hasmah to be buried at a Muslim cemetery in Malaysia's administrative capital Putrajaya, Mahathir's office said.

The comments stood in sharp contrast to the bonhomie on display earlier this week at the White House, where President Donald Trump feted Chinese leader Xi Jinping with military flyovers and at a lavish state dinner.

The White House television press pool aired video of Xi's arrival at the White House for tea on the final day of the Chinese leader's visit, as well as the two leaders' tour of the National Archives, which houses the US Constitution.

New York, Boston and Philadelphia were all in the firing line of the nor'easter, as authorities warned of potential flooding, downed trees and damaged power lines.

British counterterrorism police were Sunday probing "a major" incident near a base used by the US air force after arresting five men on suspicion of "preparing a terrorist act", police said.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Saturday accused Europe of blocking efforts to resolve the conflict in Ukraine, after another round of strikes left 16 dead on both sides.

US President Donald Trump signed a security deal Tuesday with the leaders of Greenland and Denmark, cooling temperatures after his contentious calls to acquire the autonomous Danish territory.

UK flights faced fresh disruption Monday, with some cancelled due to a technical issue at the nation's air traffic control agency – the second such outage in two weeks.

US and Iranian officials spoke separately with mediators on Monday as part of a renewed effort to end seven months of war, according to officials of both countries.

US President Donald Trump on Saturday rejected a truce deal proposed by Iran that Tehran said could have reopened the Strait of Hormuz to shipping within a week.