Japan's Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. will require its employees to take at least one month's paternity leave in principle from October to encourage participation in childcare and improve the working environment.

A high-ranking Chinese government official has warned Japan's business community against spying in China, following the espionage conviction of an employee of a Japanese company, diplomatic sources said Friday.

The typhoon, which was packing wind speeds of up to 133 kilometer per hour as of 2 a.m. GMT, is expected to make landfall in central Vietnam late on Sunday, earlier than previous forecasts as it was travelling fast.

Bualoi battered small islands in the center of the Philippines on Friday, toppling trees and power pylons, ripping roofs off homes, unleashing floods and forcing 400,000 people to evacuate.

The AUKUS pact, sealed in 2021, aims to provide Australia with nuclear-powered attack submarines from the next decade to counter China's ambitions in the Indo-Pacific region.

More than 260,000 people across several provinces along the Chao Phraya river were impacted by flooding this week, the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation said in a statement.

A lithium battery fire broke out Friday night at the National Information Resources Service in Daejeon, about 150 kilometers south of Seoul, which hosts key state IT systems, according to local authorities.

Protests broke out last week in the capital, Dili, with thousands of demonstrators demanding that parliament cancel a $4.2 million plan to purchase SUVs for lawmakers.

Formally sworn into office along with Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul a day earlier, Sihasak Phuangketkeow stressed the need to uphold the ceasefire agreed by Thailand and Cambodia at the end of a deadly five-day conflict in July.

The Chinese finance hub saw scores of fallen trees and flooding in multiple neighborhoods, with the storm surge smashing the glass doors of an upscale hotel and flooding its lobby, according to footage circulated online.

Tech companies including WhatsApp and Reddit as well as streaming giant Twitch and gaming firm Roblox could be among more than a dozen sites added to Australia's social media ban for under-16s, the country's regulator said Wednesday.

Super Typhoon Ragasa, the world's most powerful tropical cyclone this year, lashed Hong Kong with hurricane-force winds and torrential rain on Wednesday, while heavy downpours in Taiwan resulted in the deaths of 14 people.

People piled into supermarkets, leaving little on the shelves, as panic buying set in and residents stocked up on necessities for fear that shops could be closed for two days.

Tonnes of microplastic granules from the ship inundated an 80-kilometer stretch of beach along Sri Lanka's western coast. Fishing was prohibited for months.

The group of 11 economists in leading American and European universities published a joint statement via the "Forum on Information and Democracy", a body formed by the Reporters Without Borders media freedom group and the French state.

At least 88 minors were among the initial count of 216 taken into custody Sunday as police deployed water cannons and deafening sirens against crowds of mostly young, rock-throwing protesters. 

Australia and Papua New Guinea this week agreed on the text of a deal which will see the countries commit to defending each other from armed attacks.

Australia's goals are above those of Canada and neighboring New Zealand, but below the United Kingdom which is one of the most ambitious in the world.

Student-led demonstrations against the multi-million dollar purchase drew thousands this week in the capital Dili, with demonstrators and police clashing two days in a row.

The deal -- known as the Pukpuk treaty -- was set to see the two nations commit to defending each other from armed attacks as they face "emerging threats" to their security, according to a copy seen by AFP.

Australia and Papua New Guinea failed to sign a long-awaited mutual defense treaty as expected on Wednesday, as Canberra seeks to deepen ties with Pacific nations and counter Beijing's rising influence.

China's coast guard said Tuesday it had "taken control measures" against several Philippine vessels at the disputed Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea, as Beijing moves to reinforce its territorial claims and maritime rights in the contested region.

The pact -- seen as an attempt to counter Beijing's rising Pacific influence -- is expected to be signed by leaders Anthony Albanese and James Marape on Wednesday in Port Moresby.

More than 1,000 people, mostly university students, rallied near the National Parliament in Dili to protest against the plan approved last year to procure cars for each of the 65 members of parliament.

The Foreign Ministry is repatriating Indonesian nationals in batches from Nepal following the deadly anti-government protests in the Himalayan country last week, while advising citizens to postpone plans to visit the country despite the situation beginning to stabilize.

With the world order in flux and economic rivalries intensifying, Indonesia and India must recognize their shared weight as major Global South powers and step up cooperation to advance a multipolar world order, experts and officials urged at a forum in Jakarta on Monday.

The fresh defence agreement will be signed by Prime Ministers Anthony Albanese and James Marape on Wednesday in Port Moresby, part of celebrations to mark 50 years of Papua New Guinea's independence from Australia.

The long-awaited national climate risk assessment found that rising temperatures will have "cascading, compounding, concurrent" impacts on life in Australia, home to more than 27 million people.

The announcement came just hours after Paudel appointed former Chief Justice Sushila Karki to lead the country, following the deadly "Gen Z"-led anti-graft protests that forced Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli to resign.

The raid has threatened to destabilize ties at a time when the countries are seeking to finalise a trade deal, which includes a US$350 billion investment fund to support strategic US industries.