Australia will from December 10 force social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and TikTok to remove users under the age of 16. 

President Prabowo Subianto has returned to Jakarta from Malaysia ahead of schedule, following a busy weekend at the ASEAN Summit, which saw Southeast Asian leaders sit down with United States President Donald Trump to hash out new deals, the United Nations chief call for an end to violence in Myanmar and the welcoming of the bloc's 11th member Timor-Leste after a 14-year wait.

Speaking on Air Force One, Trump said he was hopeful of a deal when he sees Xi on Thursday in South Korea, while also indicating he was willing to extend his trip in order to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing has billed the December 28 polls as a step towards reconciliation in the civil war unleashed by his 2021 coup.

A US Navy helicopter and a fighter jet went down in the waters of the South China Sea on Sunday in two separate incidents, the US Pacific Fleet said on X. 

The first crash involved a MH-60R Sea Hawk helicopter, which "went down in the waters of the South China Sea while conducting routine operations from the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz," according to a statement from the US Navy's Pacific Fleet.

Timor-Leste’s long-awaited admission into ASEAN and United States President Donald Trump’s attendance, his first since returning to office, have dominated the first day of the bloc’s 47th summit on Sunday, when its members reiterated the importance of unity and cooperation amid rising global tensions.

Beijing this month announced sweeping restrictions on the rare earths industry, prompting Trump to threaten 100 percent tariffs on imports from China in retaliation.

The year-long funeral ceremony of Thailand's former Queen Sirikit started Sunday, with grieving royalists set to salute the procession bringing her remains to lie in state at Bangkok's Grand Palace.

A second day of US-China trade talks concluded in the Malaysian capital on Sunday, ahead of Trump's meeting with Xi in South Korea later this week, in a bid to seal a deal to end the bruising trade war between the world's two biggest economies.

India and China resume direct flights on Sunday after a five-year suspension, a move important both for trade and a symbolic step as Asia's giants cautiously rebuild relations.

Its Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao joined ASEAN leaders for a summit and signing ceremony in the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur, before posing for photographs together in interlocking arms.  

The deal was signed by Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet together with Trump and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, following a bloody border dispute this year.

Timor Leste's accession to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations follows a 14-year wait and though its membership is not expected to be transformative, it represents a symbolic victory for its President Jose Ramos-Horta and Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao, the heroes of its struggle for independence.

The new global legal framework aims to strengthen international cooperation to fight digital crimes, from child pornography to transnational cyberscams and money laundering.

The confrontation, which resulted in dozens of deaths, among them civilians, began two weeks ago following explosions in central Kabul, which the Taliban government blamed on its Pakistani neighbor, launching a retaliatory offensive at the border.

Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said he had asked for the ceasefire ceremony to be held on Sunday morning, after which he would return to Thailand.

The palace said she had been hospitalized since 2019 due to several illnesses and developed a bloodstream infection on Oct. 17 before passing away late on Friday.

After signing a trade deal with Indonesia in September, Canada is now targeting agreements with the Philippines, Malaysia, South Korea and Japan.

As President Prabowo Subianto heads to the ASEAN and APEC summits, expectations are high for Indonesia to build a more significant presence in the Asia-Pacific region. 

Mohamad Hasan also said the Association of Southeast Asian Nations bloc could not stop a general election in Myanmar set for December but its foreign ministers want the contest to be fair and inclusive.

Xi will deliver a speech at APEC and hold bilateral meetings with other leaders, including South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, Guo Jiakun, a spokesperson for the ministry,said at a press briefing on Friday. 

Trump said Wednesday he was making a "big trip" to Malaysia, Japan and South Korea, his first visit to the region since he returned to the White House in a blaze of tariffs and geopolitical brinkmanship.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations will press for trade multilateralism and deeper ties with new partners, while managing the fallout from Trump's global tariff offensive at its annual meeting in Malaysia's capital.

Timor Leste, Southeast Asia's poorest nation with 1.4 million people and slightly bigger than Qatar, applied to join the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations in 2011 and was granted observer status in 2022.

Trump is expected in South Korea on Wednesday for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Forum.

Sprawling compounds where internet fraudsters target people with romance and business cons have thrived along Myanmar's loosely governed border during its civil war, sparked by a 2021 coup.

President Prabowo made the statement during a bilateral meeting with Lula at the State Palace in Central Jakarta on Thursday morning.

The US and India have been negotiating for months to thrash out a trade deal, but talks have been complicated by the South Asian nation's Russian oil imports, which prompted Washington to impose a punitive 25 percent tariff on Indian goods in August, raising total levies to 50 percent.

US President Donald Trump is scheduled to visit Japan for three days from Monday for his first in-person talks with Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.