The monsoon, which is vital for India's $3 trillion economy, brings nearly 70 percent of the rain the country needs to water crops and replenish reservoirs and aquifers. 

As world leaders descended on the UN General Assembly, ASEAN's top representatives voiced their concerns about the right to inclusive development and adherence to the rule of law.

The Chinese-made bullet train named "Whoosh" is built to take more than 600 people to and from Jakarta and Bandung in West Java in 45 minutes and is part of China's Belt and Road infrastructure initiative.

Hundreds of forest fires in Indonesia have caused haze that has worsened air quality in parts of Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur's top environment official has said, a claim Jakarta denied on Saturday.

Few nations have been transformed as radically by China’s Belt and Road Initiative, or BRI, as Laos. The US$5.9 billion China-Laos railway has pushed the small, Southeast Asian country closer to its dream of being land-linked, not land-locked.

China's increasing assertiveness in efforts to form security ties with developing countries in close proximity to Australia have raised alarm bells in Canberra, and a recent shakeup of Australia's defence has refocused on protecting its northern approaches.

The White Paper comes a decade after the vision was first proposed by President Xi Jinping and has been presented as his alternative to the current Western-led world order.

The three-way talks -- attended by deputy and assistant ministers from the three countries -- were seen as an attempt to ease Beijing's concerns over Washington's deepening security ties with Tokyo and Seoul.

The Philippines expressed outrage and shared images of Chinese coastguard policing a long, ball-buoy barrier near the Scarborough Shoal, a rocky outcrop 200 km from the Philippines and the site of years of intermittent flare-ups over sovereignty and fishing rights.

Dancers in traditional costume and puppeteers also put on performances for the bemused visitors, who came in on a flight from Shanghai. Many stopped to take selfies with Srettha.

The summit of leaders from the 18-member Pacific Islands Forum will take place Monday and Tuesday, one year after the first meeting, which was also in Washington.

However, he added in an interview with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour in New York on Saturday that Malaysia will never recognise LGBT rights.

Manila's coast guard and Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources "strongly condemn" China's installation of the barrier in part of the Scarborough Shoal, Commodore Jay Tarriela, a coast guard spokesperson, posted on the X social media platform, formerly Twitter.

Tensions between India and Canada escalated after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Monday there were "credible allegations" linking Indian government agents to the murder in Canada in June of a Sikh separatist leader.

South Korea is often recognized as the country where eSports, or professional gaming, started.

India was willing to look into specific information in connection with the accusations, its foreign ministry said, adding that Canada has not shared anything so far. 

Thailand, Asia's fourth-largest automobile assembly hub, has been offering incentives to EV and battery makers, and tax cuts to local EV buyers, to remain a regional auto centre.

The Philippines foreign ministry late on Thursday said it was awaiting assessments from various agencies of the extent of environmental damage in Iroquois Reef in the Spratly islands and would be guided by Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra.

The assets now include cash amounting to more than S$76 million, 68 gold bars, cryptocurrencies of more than S$38 million, more than 110 properties and 62 vehicles worth more than S$1.2 million. 

The military has justified its 2021 coup with unsubstantiated claims of widespread fraud in 2020 elections won resoundingly by civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD).

Indonesia has continued to advocate for the rights of Afghan women on the sidelines of the 78th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), calling on world leaders on Tuesday not to allow politics to get in the way of helping those marginalized under Taliban rule.

Marine scientists say some areas in the Gulf of Thailand have more than 10 times the normal amount of plankton, turning the water a bright green and killing off marine life.

Beijing claims self-ruled Taiwan as its territory, vowing to seize it one day, and officials in Washington -- a key ally of Taipei -- have cited 2027 as a possible timeline for an invasion.

The report comes days after the United Nations said the world was facing catastrophic climate change and was perilously far from meeting goals for slashing carbon pollution.

The hotline will be available to boys and men for three months from Friday and specialists will take calls for counselling, according to the Cabinet Office.

ASEAN countries have participated in multinational defence drills before, but these are the first featuring just the bloc, which is battling perceptions of irrelevance on major regional issues such as the turmoil in Myanmar and disputes in the South China Sea.

On Tuesday, Australia's eastern seaboard sweltered in unusually warm spring temperatures, with hot winds whipping up some of the riskiest bushfire conditions since the 2019-2020 "Black Summer" catastrophe.

"China is the greatest strategic and economic threat facing the United States in the 21st Century," Pence said in a speech at the conservative Hudson Institute in Washington.

Beijing claims Taiwan as its own territory to be seized one day, by force if necessary, and has ramped up diplomatic and military pressure on Taipei in recent years.

The Vice President is on a five-day working visit to China, where he is meeting with Premier Li Qiang to discuss bilateral ties, including potential investment for Indonesia's halal industry.