A Thai court has issued arrest warrants for 17 people including a high-profile construction tycoon, police said on Thursday, over their alleged involvement in the building of a skyscraper that collapsed and killed scores of workers during a powerful March earthquake.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese touted his country's defense cooperation with Indonesia during a visit to Jakarta on Thursday, his first trip abroad since his reelection.

Malaysia's premier Anwar Ibrahim said Wednesday he discussed the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 with Russian President Vladimir Putin, days after the UN's aviation agency blamed the 2014 tragedy on Moscow.

Tributes poured in from across Latin America on Tuesday following the death of Uruguay's former president Jose "Pepe" Mujica, an ex-guerrilla fighter revered by the left for his humility and progressive politics.

Burgeoning commerce in recent years has helped grow Beijing's influence in Latin America and the Caribbean, a region of strategic significance for the United States. 

Harvard University expanded its lawsuit challenging the Trump administration's moves to cut off billions of dollars in federal funding to the Ivy League school on Tuesday after officials said they are terminating an additional US$450 million in grants.

The Trump administration welcomed on Monday 59 white South Africans it granted refugee status in the US, having deemed them victims of racial discrimination, while drawing criticism from Democrats and stirring confusion in South Africa.

Roughly half the world's population is already at risk of contracting the two diseases, which were once mainly confined to tropical regions.

Putin on Sunday proposed direct negotiations with Ukraine in Istanbul on Thursday "without any preconditions". Late on Wednesday, the Kremlin said the delegation would include presidential adviser Vladimir Medinsky and Deputy Defence Minister Alexander Fomin - but Putin's name was not on the list.

Scorching heatwaves fueled by global warming are increasing the risk of dangerous complications during pregnancies across the world, a report warned on Wednesday.

US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday Qatar Airways had placed a "record" order for 160 planes from Boeing, as he signed a raft of deals in Doha alongside Qatar's emir.

An Israeli airstrike on the Gaza Strip on Tuesday killed a well-known Palestinian journalist whom it accused of working with Hamas and was recovering in hospital from an earlier strike, the territory's health ministry said.