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.  

Harris, who replaced Joe Biden as the 2024 Democratic presidential candidate but lost to Donald Trump, told the BBC that she had not yet decided whether to make another White House bid.

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.

The zoo announced last month the pair would be leaving at the end of November due to Huan Huan's kidney ailment, making the return trip the last opportunity for them to be able to make the journey.

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

Israeli lawmakers on Wednesday advanced two bills paving the way for West Bank annexation, leading to condemnation Thursday from US Vice President JD Vance, who was in Israel at the time and who echoed Trump's comments.

He expressed optimism for a durable end to the two-year Gaza war as he met Israeli, US and other Western forces monitoring the ceasefire from inside a vast converted warehouse in southern Israel.

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. 

Rubio, who was touring a US-led multinational centre in Israel aimed at coordinating a ceasefire in Gaza, said that a sustained end to the war would encourage more countries to join the so-called Abraham Accords, under which a number of Arab countries normalised ties with Israel in 2020.

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.

The completion of the wrecking work came as the White House released a list of donors to the ballroom including Apple, Google and Meta.

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.

"I'm about to turn 80 years old, but you can be sure I have the same energy I had when I was 30. And I will run for a fourth term in Brazil," Lula said at a joint press conference with his Indonesian counterpart Prabowo Subianto in Jakarta.

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