"We are elevating our relationship to a Major Defense Cooperation Partnership, in recognition of the strength and potential of our bilateral defense ties," Hegseth said in a statement on X.

Beyond immediate security concerns, ASEAN highlighted the broader implications of the conflict on regional stability, especially on energy and food supplies.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will travel to Brunei and Malaysia to discuss energy and food security, his office said on Sunday, continuing regional efforts to shore up fuel supplies for a nation reliant on imports.

China on Sunday unveiled 10 new incentive measures for Taiwan, including easing tourist curbs, allowing in "healthy" television dramas and facilitating food sales, following a visit by the island's opposition leader.

Banga's comments, on the sidelines of the spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, reflect growing recognition of the huge impact the war is already having on global growth and inflation, with developing countries likely to be hit the hardest.

Pope Leo warned of the risk of democracies sliding into "majoritarian tyranny" on Tuesday, in a letter issued by the Vatican two days after US President Donald Trump attacked the pontiff on social media.

The cost of urea -- a common nitrogen-based fertilizer -- had jumped by around 50 percent at the port of New Orleans.

Prabowo is set to meet Macron at the Elysee Palace "to discuss enhancing strategic cooperation between the two countries," Cabinet Secretary Teddy Indra Wijaya said in a statement.

"I certainly think that in some cases, it would be best for the Vatican to stick to matters of morality... and let the President United States stick to dictating American public policy," Vance told Fox News's "Special Report with Bret Baier."

Canada, the UK, Australia, Japan and six other countries condemned the killings of UN peacekeepers in Lebanon on Tuesday while calling "for an urgent end to hostilities" in the country where Israeli attacks have killed over 2,000 people since March.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio hosted the first direct talks between Israel and Lebanon in decades on Tuesday and both sides said they held positive discussions although it was not immediately clear if they agreed to a framework for peace.

The parallel diplomatic openings came even as violence persisted, underscoring both the fragility of the process and Washington's push to stabilize a region shaken by the over-six-week war.

"Pope Leo is WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy," Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.