AFP examines the options now for the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) after its worst result since 2009, and the prospects for its bruised leader Ishiba, who only took office on October 1.

The LDP and its longtime partner Komeito will suffer a drubbing from voters, with the coalition possibly losing its parliamentary majority, opinion polls suggest, as Japan struggles with rising costs of living and increasingly tense relations with neighbouring China.

It is the latest move by a Southeast Asian nation against Beijing's actions in the strategic waterway, which it claims almost in full.

The United States is bound by law to provide Chinese-claimed Taiwan with the means to defend itself despite the lack of formal diplomatic ties, to the constant anger of Beijing.

In the hard-hit Bicol region, residents trapped on the roofs and upper floors of their homes were still awaiting desperately needed assistance.

Fighters from the "Mandalay PDF", students, teachers and IT workers who fled the city years ago to join the struggle against the junta, are already in Patheingyi, about five km from the city, according to the group's spokesman Osmond.

Mech Dara, who is known for exposing corruption and human trafficking, had been held in pre-trial detention since Oct. 1, and faces up to two years in prison.

Shigeru Ishiba, a fan of trains, 1970s pop idols and making model ships and planes, only last month took the helm of the LDP, which has governed Japan for almost all of the past seven decades.

1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), a sovereign wealth fund co-founded by Najib in 2009 while he was premier, has faced corruption probes in at least six countries over the alleged misappropriation of over $4.5 billion by high-level officials of the fund and their associates. 

The new partnership status follows months of speculation about Indonesia’s interest in joining BRICS. It was also revealed during Foreign Minister Sugiono’s first trip overseas after his inauguration on Monday.

More than 4,700 Indonesians working in the online gambling sector in the Philippines, both legally and illegally, have been told to return home after Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos banned online gambling operations in the country. 

Beijing and Jakarta are key economic allies but the world's largest archipelago nation is trying to stop foreign vessels from fishing in its waters, saying it costs the economy billions of dollars annually.

Xi, speaking at the BRICS summit in Russia's city of Kazan, called for a de-escalation in the Ukrainian crisis, and for no further expansion of the battlefield.

"The process of forming a multipolar world order is underway, a dynamic and irreversible process," Putin told gathered leaders from countries, including India and China, at the official opening of the summit.

Those charged on Wednesday included Mohammad Adib At-Tarmimi, the son of late Malaysian preacher Ashaari Mohamed, the founder of the Al-Arqam religious sect that was outlawed by the government in 1994 for allegedly spreading deviant Islamic teachings in the Muslim-majority country.

China considers Taiwan to be part of its territory and has ramped up military activity around the island in recent years to pressure Taipei into accepting its claims of sovereignty. 

Cuong was elected with the vote of all the 440 deputies who attended the parliament session on Monday.

China's Communist Party has never ruled the island, but it claims Taiwan as part of its territory and has said it will not renounce the use of force to bring it under its control.

Four corvettes and a logistics vessel from Russia's Pacific Fleet arrived at Thilawa port in Yangon on Sunday "to join the second Myanmar-Russia joint maritime security exercise", the Global New Light of Myanmar said.

Charles' 16th official visit to Australia is also his first major foreign trip since being diagnosed with cancer in February.

Tolchenov said three Russian navy corvettes would take part in the exercise which "will be seen both by our friends and enemies".

His visit to South Korea comes days after Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky accusedNorth Korea of preparing to send 10,000 soldiers to help Moscow's war effort, raising US concerns. NATO chief Mark Rutte has said there was no evidence of Pyongyang's presence at this stage.

Xi said "China and Indonesia have traditionally been friendly neighbours, and the two countries' comprehensive strategic partnership has continued to steadily improve and has entered a new stage of building toward a shared future," according to the CCTV report.

The report comes a day after KCNA said North Korea amended its constitution to designate South Korea a "hostile state" and dropped unification of the two countries as a goal.

In 2020, Vanuatu emitted 121,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide, compared to neighboring Australia's 379 million tonnes, according to data from the World Bank. 

Min Aung Hlaing "is planning to go China in November... the trip has been planned since Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi visited Myanmar" in August, a source close to the military said.

Since emerging from decades of brutal occupation in 2002 on the back of an independence vote 25 years ago, Asia's youngest nation has made remarkable political strides in its short history.

The 99-year-old Mahathir, who served as prime minister for more two decades, has a history of heart problems and has undergone bypass surgeries. He has been in and out of hospital in recent years, and was last hospitalized in July. 

Two Singapore air force F-15SG jets scrambled and escorted Air India flight AXB684 away from populated areas after the airline received an email that there was a bomb on board its plane, Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen said in a Facebook post. 

"China is willing to be a partner and friend with the United States. This will benefit not only the two countries, but the world," Xi said in remarks from a letter to the 2024 annual awards dinner of the National Committee on US-China Relations, according to a CCTV news report.