The bulk of the new spending, part of a A$330 billion decade-long budget, will only kick in after five years, and ultimately take defense spending to 2.4 percent of GDP by 2034 from just over 2 percent today.

The United States and the Philippines will conduct joint naval drills beyond the 12 nautical miles of the Philippines' territorial waters for the first time since the annual exercise started in 1991, in areas of open sea that are claimed by China, the newspaper reported. 

"Since the weather is extremely hot, it is not only for Aung San Suu Kyi ... For all those, who need necessary precautions, especially elderly prisoners, we are working to protect them from heatstroke," junta spokesperson Major General Zaw Min Tun said in comments reported by four media outlets. 

Often dubbed the world's largest living structure, the Great Barrier Reef is a 2,300-kilometre (1,400-mile) long expanse, home to a stunning array of biodiversity including more than 600 types of coral and 1,625 fish species.

Wong is due to take over from Lee on May 15.

Wang's trip will kick off on Thursday, April 18 and wrap up on April 23, foreign ministry Spokesperson Lin Jian said.

The cycle between the two is hugely important for farmers worldwide. El Nino generally brings hotter, drier weather to eastern Australia and Southeast Asia and wetter conditions to the Americas, while a La Nina has the opposite effect.

The 51-year-old will succeed Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on May 15, making him just the second non-member of Singapore’s founding family in nearly six decades to lead the affluent city-state.

Scholz touched down in the southwestern megacity of Chongqing on Sunday morning, Chinese state broadcaster CCTV said, accompanied by a large delegation of ministers and business executives.

At least four people were wounded in the attack, including Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel of the Assyrian Christ The Good Shepherd Church, when a man lunged at him with a knife during a service live-streamed on Monday.

Thousands of people have been killed in the anti-narcotics campaign started by Duterte in 2016 and continued under Marcos.

Wong, 51, is currently the deputy prime minister and finance minister of Singapore, and has been prime minister-in-waiting since 2022.

The epicentre of the quake, which hit at 0656 local time (2056 GMT), was roughly 110 kilometres (68 miles) east-southeast of Kimbe on the island of New Britain, at a depth of 64 kilometres, the US Geological Survey said. 

The Asia and Oceania trip has been on the papal agenda for some time, but there had been doubts on whether the 87-year-old pontiff would embark on it given his increasing frailty and a record of skipping engagements due to health problems.

Five women and one man were killed during Joe Cauchi's Saturday afternoon rampage, which took place in a bustling shopping center in Sydney's Bondi Junction neighborhood.

Beijing on Friday criticized the United States, Japan and the Philippines and defended its actions in the South China Sea as "lawful" after US President Joe Biden hosted a trilateral meeting in Washington.

Pope Francis will visit Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, East Timor and Singapore in September, the Vatican announced on Friday, an ambitious trip that could test the 87-year-old's increasingly fragile health.

India is the fastest-growing major economy, but there are still not enough white-collar jobs for its educated youth.

Thailand's foreign minister arrived for a visit to the Myanmar border on Friday, the ministry said, following days of clashes that have dislodged junta troops from their positions in a vital trade hub in the neighboring country.

A national election in the Solomon Islands, the first since Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare signed a security pact with Beijing, will be watched next week for its potential to jolt the United States-China rivalry in the South Pacific.

An Israeli man, who was arrested in Malaysia last month carrying six guns and dozens of bullets, pleaded not guilty in a Kuala Lumpur court on Friday to charges of unauthorized trafficking and possession of firearms, his lawyer said.

A faster and vastly more effective treatment for drug-resistant tuberculosis is being rolled out in the Asia-Pacific region, raising hopes of a "new era" in tackling one of the world's deadliest infectious diseases.

US President Joe Biden pledged Thursday to defend the Philippines from any attack in the South China Sea, as he hosted the first joint summit with Tokyo and Manila amid growing tensions with Beijing.

United States President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida unveiled their countries' biggest ever upgrade in defense ties Wednesday during a White House state visit focused on countering a resurgent China.

Myanmar junta troops stationed in an embattled border town have withdrawn from their positions, a spokesman for a Myanmar ethnic armed group and a Thai official told AFP on Thursday.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol promised "reform" and the head of his ruling party resigned on Thursday after a disastrous election increased the opposition's stranglehold on parliament.

Beijing regards its ties with ASEAN states as crucial to regional trade and development, according to a recent statement from China's foreign ministry.

The annual survey sought to measure the perceived soft power of several major countries like Japan, Australia and the United States, as well as the ten countries comprising ASEAN.

The announcement comes one day after defence chiefs from four countries including the Philippines -- which has been engaged in several contentious maritime disputes with Beijing recently -- said they would conduct joint drills Sunday in the area.

The Russian foreign minister will talk with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on a series of "hot topics" that will also include joint cooperation in international organisations, such as the United Nations and the Group of 20 (G20), Moscow had said earlier.