Shanghai halted transportation links, recalled ships and shut tourism spots including Shanghai Disney Resort on Sunday as it braced for Typhoon Bebinca, in what could be the strongest tropical cyclone to hit the Chinese financial hub since 1949.

The Philippines is returning to port a coast guard vessel anchored in the contested Sabina Shoal in the South China Sea after a five-month deployment as its mission is accomplished, the maritime council said on Sunday.

The death toll in Myanmar in the wake of Typhoon Yagi has jumped to 74, state media reported on Sunday, a day after its junta made a rare request for foreign aid.

The 87-year-old pontiff's comments on the US presidential hopefuls came as he defied health concerns to connect with believers from the jungle of Papua New Guinea to the skyscrapers of Singapore. 

Police will take DNA samples from the 402 rescued children, whom authorities say are not orphans as previously claimed, but the children of Global Ikhwan members placed in welfare homes for indoctrination.

The 87-year-old pontiff took off for Rome on Friday, completing his longest trip in duration and distance since he became head of the world's estimated 1.4 billion Roman Catholics more than 13 years ago.

Leaders from the 18-member bloc travelled to Tonga in August for an annual meeting dominated by the growing Pacific rivalry between China and the United States.

The Southeast Asian nation's sustained presence at the feature, aiming to monitor what it suspects to be China's small-scale reclamation activities has angered Beijing, turning the shoal into their latest flashpoint in the contested waters.

In likely the last major speech of an ambitious 12-day tour across Southeast Asia and Oceania, the 87-year-old pontiff singled out concern for Singapore's rapidly aging population and its migrant workforce, primarily centered in the construction and domestic services industries.

Climate change is causing typhoons to form closer to the coast, intensify faster and stay longer over land, according to a study published in July.

With wide swathes of the country in turmoil, about a third of Myanmar's 55 million people require humanitarian assistance but the ICRC cannot operate in many areas because of access restrictions and security risks.

The 87-year-old pontiff has defied doubts about his health during a journey that has taken him from a Jakarta grand mosque to a remote jungle of Papua New Guinea.

It was the latest in a series of bilateral meetings between the two men that appear to have stemmed from the G20 Bali summit in November 2022, when US President Joe Biden and Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping set them up as a quasi-formal back channel to put a “floor” on worsening relations.

East Japan Railway (JR East) will first introduce trains where many of the driver's tasks are automated -- but they will remain in the cab -- on parts of one route from 2028, the firm said Tuesday.

The marathon four-nation tour has already taken in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea but the 87-year-old pontiff has appeared in good spirits throughout despite fears over his health.

For many Catholics in Singapore, this will be their first time seeing a pope, as the last papal visit to the city state was in 1986 when Pope John Paul II stopped by for 5 hours.

Pilgrims clamoured to catch a glimpse of the 87-year-old pontiff who appeared in good spirits, greeting him with a rapturous reception in a wide coastal area of the capital Dili.

Washington and Beijing remain at odds on issues from trade to the status of self-ruled Taiwan and China's increasingly assertive approach in disputed maritime regions.

Defense Minister and president-elect Prabowo Subianto has completed a high-profile diplomatic tour of five ASEAN nations a little over a month before his inauguration as the country’s new leader in October, a move seen by many as a way to bolster the country’s influence within the region amid rising tensions.

The 87-year-old pontiff is on an ambitious 12-day visit to four countries across Southeast Asia and Oceania, his longest overseas journey yet. 

Wang will attend the meeting of BRICS high-ranking security officials and national security advisers on Wednesday and Thursday in the city of St Petersburg, ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said in an online statement.

The beefing-up of security will coincide with a visit by Pope Francis to the city-state from Wednesday to Friday, during which a papal mass will be held for 50,000 attendees.

Thirty five people have died and 24 are missing, mostly because of landslides and floods triggered by the typhoon, Vietnam's disaster management agency said. 

Naval and air forces will take part in the "North-Joint 2024" exercises in the skies and around the Sea of Japan and Sea of Okhotsk, off Russia's coast, China's defence ministry said.

Catholic devotees were clamouring to see Francis as he headed to Asia's youngest nation -- making pilgrimages from faraway towns and hours-long crossings of its border with Indonesia.

Cases include Nobel-winning Bishop Carlos Ximenes Belo, who helped Asia's youngest nation free itself from Indonesian occupation, but who the Vatican secretly punished over claims he had sexually abused young children for decades.

The 87-year-old pontiff, who is halfway through a 12-day trip across the Asia-Pacific region, appeared spritely and jovial as he wrapped up a four-day stop in Papua New Guinea with an audience back-and-forth.

His three-day Papua New Guinea leg is capped by an afternoon visit to Vanimo, a town of around 14,000 near the border with Indonesia that is inaccessible by road from much of the country, forcing authorities to ship the Pope’s car by barge from the capital Port Moresby.

The newly sworn-in prime minister said her government will mainly continue the policies of her predecessor with some adjustments, including tackling issues such as debt restructuring, supporting small and medium-sized enterprises as well as boosting the agricultural and tourism sectors.

Yagi, the world's second-most powerful tropical cyclone in 2024, has already killed at least 16 people in the Philippines, having formed east of the archipelago earlier in the week.