Brunei's ruler, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, has been discharged from a Malaysian hospital and will rest for several days in Malaysia, the Brunei Prime Minister's Office said late on Saturday.

Organizers from both camps have told police they expect tens of thousands of supporters to rally in Seoul's central Gwanghwamun square and the southern Seocho neighbourhood on Saturday afternoon.

The United States was "reorienting toward deterring aggression by communist China", Hegseth said, calling on US allies and partners in Asia to swiftly upgrade their defences in the face of mounting threats.

French President Emmanuel Macron is following leaders of China, Japan and other European countries in visiting the region in recent weeks, in a sign of Southeast Asia's strategic importance amid uncertainties on global supply chains and trade.

In recent months, cases of kidnappings or attempted abductions in the cryptocurrency world have multiplied globally as bitcoin, the most capitalized cryptocurrency, has grown to historical peaks.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on Wednesday the United States will start "aggressively" revoking visas of Chinese students, including those with connections to the Chinese Communist Party or studying in critical fields.

Billionaire Tesla CEO Elon Musk is leaving the Trump administration after leading a tumultuous efficiency drive, during which he upended several federal agencies, but ultimately failed to deliver the generational savings he had sought.

In democracies worldwide, a political gender divide is intensifying among Gen Z voters, with young men voting for right-wing parties and young women leaning left, a break from pre-pandemic years when both tended to vote for progressives.

President Prabowo Subianto said France was one of Indonesia's main partners in upgrading military hardware, including the development of the defense industry through joint production and technology transfers.

Russia and Ukraine completed the exchange of 1000 prisoners each on Sunday, the Russian Defense Ministry and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said, in the largest such swap since the war began three years ago.

The foreign ministers of several Arab countries, who had planned to visit the occupied West Bank this weekend, condemned on Saturday Israel's decision to block their trip.

The UN says that in the past 12 days it has only managed to transport some 200 truckloads of aid into Gaza, hindered by insecurity and Israeli access restrictions.

With international pressure mounting on Israel over the deepening hunger crisis in Gaza, Macron said action was needed "in the next few hours and days".