Heavy rains across Indonesia, Malaysia and southern Thailand have inundated cities, trapped thousands and caused deadly landslides.

The toll from floods and landslides rose to 19 in North Sumatra, which has been battered by heavy rain for days, with dozens still missing.

Indonesia has called for stronger collaboration among the Developing 8 (D8) nations in the media and strategic communications in the digital ecosystem, as the developing world faces increasingly complex global challenges just months before Jakarta assumes the bloc’s leadership.

The remarks come amid the countries' worst diplomatic crisis in years, after Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said this month a hypothetical Chinese attack on Taiwan could trigger a military response from Tokyo.

Over 24 hours after fire broke out in the eight-building housing estate with 2,000 units, flames were still visible in some windows as crews sprayed water on the blackened exteriors.

The Japanese government will issue around 11 trillion yen (US$70 billion) in additional bonds to help fund an economic package, even as its tax revenue for this fiscal year is expected to rise to a record high.

This year’s visit comes as Indonesia aims to reach high-income status by 2045 amid global tensions and trade disruptions.

The growing popularity of Jeju Island’s haenyeo may not be enough to save the fate of a centuries-long tradition, which has seen the number of its practitioners dwindling over the years. Yet, the female divers march on to save it from extinction.

The digital economy, including the development of artificial intelligence and cooperation to bolster the fight against transnational crimes surrounding online scams, is among the sectors to be prioritized in the expansion of cooperation between South Korea and Southeast Asian nations.

The purchase of US defence equipment is India's first under Washington's foreign military sales programme since ties soured in August after President Donald Trump doubled tariffs on Indian goods to 50 percent as punishment for New Delhi's purchases of Russian oil. 

The two were at the helm of the vessel and are suspected of waiting too long to override the autopilot, allowing the ship to run into an uninhabited island in a busy passage approaching the southwestern port of Mokpo, the coast guard officers said.

All 267 passengers and crew were safely brought to a nearby port after the ferry crashed on an uninhabited island off of South Korea's southwestern coast.

From December 10, Australia will force social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, to remove users under the age of 16 or face hefty fines.

Beijing earlier this year partially eased restrictions on Japanese seafood imports imposed in the wake of Tokyo's decision to release treated wastewater from its the crippled Fukushima power plant into the sea in 2023.

For the first time in the nearly two decades he has lived in Thailand, the 42-year-old Myanmar refugee is able to work legally.

Australia's prime minister said he would not block Turkey hosting the 2026 UN climate conference, indicating Canberra may step aside to solve a diplomatic feud overshadowing this year's talks. 

The meeting was the third of its kind between the four ministers, with previous sessions held in 2015 and 2021

The highly anticipated ruling, which was broadcast live on national television, came less than three months before the first polls in the South Asian country of 170 million people since her overthrow in August 2024.

In 2006, Thaksin sold shares Shin Corp, a telecommunications firm he founded, to Singapore's Temasek, raising concerns about a conflict of interest as well as allegations of tax evasion.

The advisory issued by Japan's embassy in China came as a senior Japanese foreign ministry official travelled to Beijing to hold talks on Tuesday with his Chinese counterpart to try and tamp down tensions.

The dispute erupted after Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi told Japanese lawmakers earlier this month that a Chinese attack on Taiwan threatening Japan's survival could trigger a military response, a scenario previous administrations have avoided discussing in public to avoid provoking Beijing, which claims the self-ruled island. 

Held as part of a weeklong series of cultural and economic activities, this year's ASEAN fair highlighted F&B products from member states, essentially hosting a tasting table to promote future collaborations in the rapidly growing sector.

Thailand is a major transit hub for wildlife smugglers, who often sell highly-prized endangered creatures on the lucrative black market in China, Taiwan and Southeast Asia.

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi told parliament on Nov. 7 that use of force against the self-ruled island claimed by China could warrant a military response from Tokyo.

Australia and Turkey submitted bids in 2022 to host the United Nations climate conference, and both countries have refused to concede to the other ever since.

Long-running tensions over a disputed border between the two Southeast Asian nations erupted into five days of fighting in July, when at least 48 people were killed and an estimated 300,000 temporarily displaced, before Trump and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim brokered the ceasefire.

World War Two, and the Japanese invasion of China which preceded it in 1931, remains a source of ongoing tension between Beijing and Tokyo.