The plane, which was heading from Sydney to Auckland on Monday, dropped abruptly before stabilizing, causing those on board to be thrown about the cabin.

Their meeting comes on the heels of heightened tensions between the Philippines and China over territorial disputes in the South China Sea. 

In its annual response plan to the crisis, the United Nations appealed for $852.4 million to provide desperately-needed assistance this year to the mostly Muslim Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh and their host communities.  

The MFP upended the kingdom's political order in May's poll, scoring the most votes after a campaign promising reform of the military, business monopolies and to amend the lese-majeste laws.

This marked a sharp reversal during a decades-long rise in global life expectancy, according to hundreds of researchers sifting through data for the US-based Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME).

The New Zealand accident investigator said Chilean authorities had confirmed they had opened a probe into the flight, and it was assisting with their enquiries.

Passengers aboard the LATAM flight said the Boeing 787 Dreamliner plunged earthward while flying from Sydney to Auckland on Monday evening, slinging unrestrained travellers out of their seats and smashing them into the roof of the cabin.

The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA), the agency tasked with monitoring the reef's health, confirmed that "a widespread, often called mass, coral bleaching event is unfolding" across the reef.

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has heralded a fresh agreement on electric vehicle (EV) collaboration with Indonesia’s southern neighbor Australia, while attempting to entice Canberra in his other legacy project, building the new capital city Nusantara.

Although the past nine consecutive months have clocked temperatures previously unseen by humanity, it fell in line with climatologists' predictions of human-caused climate change which "could have taken more into account", said Carlo Buontempo of the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S).

Spokesman for the US National Security Council John Kirby said in a press briefing on Tuesday that the White House is closely monitoring the ongoing vote count, which so far put Defense Minister Prabowo in the lead, and once he is declared winner, the Joe Biden Administration would start continue working on maintaining an already strong ties between the two countries.

Rajapaksa was forced into temporary exile after protesters stormed his official residence in 2022, following months of street protests over the island nation's worst-ever economic crisis.

In an speech at the Australian National University in Canberra, he said countries needed to put themselves in China's shoes and recognise how its leaders saw its military buildup and growing diplomatic influence as a natural result of its economic and technological prowess.

February's average sea surface temperature surpassed the previous record of 20.98 C (69.77 F) set in August 2023, in a dataset that goes back to 1979.

Southeast Asia must remain a peaceful region where sovereignty is respected and restraint is exercised by all, leaders of ASEAN nations and Australia said following a three-day summit overshadowed by pressing geopolitical tensions.

"We urge for an immediate and durable humanitarian ceasefire," said the leaders of 11 nations -- including Muslim-majority Indonesia and Malaysia -- after days of diplomatic wrangling over the text.

An official from Japan's embassy in Australia told AFP that the government supported AUKUS' efforts in the Indo-Pacific region and was looking at how to deepen cooperation.

During a meeting with his Cambodian counterpart Hun Manet, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo on Monday discussed possible bilateral efforts to increase trade and investment, as well as rice imports, as ways to strengthen the bilateral relationship between Jakarta and Phnom Penh.

Liu Jianchao, 60, leads the Communist Party's body in charge of managing ties with foreign political parties. Since taking the role in 2022, he has travelled to more than 20 nations and met officials from more than 160 countries.

Since Xi Jinping became president and commander-in-chief more than a decade ago, the defense budget has ballooned to 1.67 trillion yuan ($230.60 billion) this year from 720 billion yuan in 2013.

Some 89 Indian military personnel in the country will be gone by May 10 after having been previously ordered out by pro-China President Mohamed Muizzu, who came to power last year on an anti-Indian platform.

Though El Nino is now gradually weakening, its impact will continue over the coming months by fuelling the heat trapped in the atmosphere by greenhouse gases, the UN's World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said.

News Corp Australasia executive chairman Michael Miller said Meta's decision put hundreds of jobs at risk and would expose Australians to more scams and misinformation.  

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced the funding as leaders from the 10-nation ASEAN forum met in Melbourne for a three-day summit. 

Pop icon Swift is halfway through a run of six sold-out shows in Singapore, the only city in Southeast Asia to feature in her blockbuster Eras world tour.

With tensions in Southeast Asia, expectations are high for regional leaders attending the ASEAN-Australia Special Summit to put their feet down and denounce actions that could further destabilize the Indo-Pacific region.

Levels of hazardous small particles known as PM2.5 in the air in Hanoi were at 187 micrograms per cubic metre late on Monday, the highest among a list of most polluted international cities, according to data from AirVisual, which provides independent global air pollution information via a phone app.

Ties between neighbours the Philippines and China have soured since Marcos took office in 2022, with repeated spats over disputed features in the South China Sea at a time when Manila has been forging closer defence ties with longtime military ally the United States. 

Beijing's increasingly aggressive stance in the South China Sea was high on the agenda as leaders from the 10-nation ASEAN bloc began a "special summit" with their Australian counterparts.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong announced A$286.5 million ($186.7 million) in funding for ASEAN projects in areas including maritime security, amid tensions over China's growing assertiveness and its disputed claims to the South China Sea.