Myanmar's junta said Monday that long-promised elections will start on December 28, despite a raging civil war that has put much of the country out of its control, and international monitors slating the poll as a charade.

Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on Monday discussed border peace, trade issues and bilateral exchanges, aiming to strengthen cooperation between the two countries.

Pockets of Indonesia’s diaspora community, estimated to be six million, came together in the hundreds or thousands to participate in flag-raising ceremonies, tumpeng (yellow rice) cutting celebrations and a plethora of traditional games, gathering from Geneva, Tehran, Islamabad, Den Haag and Kuala Lumpur against the backdrop of an increasingly complicated geopolitical landscape. 

Speaking to reporters, Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul praised Japan's solidarity with Europe over Ukraine as he prepared to board a plane, and highlighted the importance and economic potential of the two populous Asian countries.

Japan's role as a peace promoter faces increasing challenges in a conflict-prone world, even as Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba reiterated on the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II the importance of maintaining "remorse" and the lessons learned from the deadly war.

Hui, a high-profile participant at the time who has since resettled in Adelaide, said the Australian government had granted him a protection visa this week, with asylum also extending to his wife, children and parents.

The majority of the deaths, 211, were recorded in mountainous Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, according to the National Disaster Management Authority.

Naruhito said he felt "a deep and renewed sense of sorrow" in a sombre speech alongside Empress Masako in an indoor arena in the centre of the Japanese capital, where the national flag flew at half-mast outside.

Bakamla successfully brought home nine Indonesians from South Korea and the Philippines in two separate incidents.

Jailed former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak won a major court battle on Wednesday that took him a step closer to being able to serve out a years-long jail term over the multi-billion dollar 1MDB scandal at home.

South Korea's former first lady Kim Keon Hee has been arrested after a court late on Tuesday issued a warrant to arrest her following accusations of graft that she denies, a special prosecutor leading a wide-reaching probe said.

The global agreement on plastic pollution, which is expected to be produced on Thursday, will be a ‘point of no return’, which requires high commitment from all countries in order to eradicate the problem once and for all, according to Southeast Asian environmental activists.

Amid today’s increasingly volatile geopolitical landscape, the government is turning to its overseas citizens as strategic partners in safeguarding the nation’s future and strengthening the economy, officials said at the second Diaspora Global Summit in Central Jakarta on Tuesday.

Lula conducted a five-day state visit to China in May, when he told a forum for cooperation between Beijing and Latin America that his region did not want to "start a new Cold War".

United Nations investigators said on Tuesday they have found evidence of systematic torture by Myanmar security forces and identified some of the senior perpetrators.

Bangladesh shelters more than 1 million Rohingya refugees in camps in its southeastern district of Cox's Bazar, the world's largest refugee settlement.

Japan faces with growing urgency the question of how to carry forward the moral voice for ridding the world of nuclear weapons.

The incident occurred near the contested Scarborough Shoal as the Philippine coast guard escorted boats distributing aid to fishermen in the area, spokesman Commodore Jay Tarriela said in a statement.

Liu Jianchao, head of a department under the ruling Communist Party that oversees relations with foreign political parties, was "taken away" after returning to Beijing from a work trip abroad in late July, according to people familiar with the matter, the report said.

South Korea's military shrank by 20 percent in the past six years to 450,000 troops, largely due to a sharp drop in the population of males of enlistment age for mandatory service in the country with the world's lowest birthrate, a report said on Sunday.

Regardless of ongoing talks over the disputed maritime area, the two countries see eye to eye on codeveloping Ambalat for resources.

President Prabowo Subianto joined the annual parade to mark Singapore’s 60th anniversary of independence on Saturday, as part of diplomatic efforts to strengthen ties between the two countries.

"A crisis that could threaten the survival of humanity, such as a nuclear war, is looming over each and every one of us living on this planet," said Nagasaki mayor Shiro Suzuki.

Malaysian Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan, who will be accompanied by his counterparts from Thailand, the Philippines, and Indonesia for the trip on Sept. 19, wanted clarity on whether Myanmar would hold a comprehensive election

Southeast Asian nations marked the 58th anniversary of ASEAN’s founding on Friday with a mix of vibrant cultural celebrations and solemn reflection, as leaders across the region urged unity and resilience in the face of rising geopolitical tensions and internal discord.

US President Donald Trump sent a letter personally to Myanmar's military chief Min Aung Hlaing to threaten new tariffs on Myanmar's US-bound exports

According to documents submitted under the US Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), the DCI Group signed the agreement with the ministry on July 31, the day Myanmar's military nominally transferred power to a civilian-led interim government ahead of a planned election.

The Southeast Asian neighbours saw the worst fighting in over a decade last month, including exchanges of artillery fire and jet fighter bombing runs that claimed at least 43 lives and displaced more than 300,000 people on both sides of the border. 

On a sweltering morning, hundreds of black-clad officials, students and survivors laid flowers at the memorial cenotaph, with the ruins of a domed building in the background, a stark reminder of the horrors that unfolded. 

While Japanese numbers fell, foreign resident totals continue to rise, reaching a record 3,677,463 people since their inclusion from the 2013 survey.