Northern China has reported an increase in "influenza-like illness" since mid-October when compared to the same period in the previous three years, the WHO said.

Since their introduction in June 2022, tighter US rules on tackling human rights violations in China's Xinjiang region, home to the largely Muslim Uyghur minority, have led to controls on over 6,000 shipments carrying goods worth more than $2 billion through September, the latest month for which US customs data are available.

The Philippine leader's announcement comes amid a rapid strengthening of ties this year between the two defence treaty allies, including a decision to almost double the number of Philippine bases accessible to the US military. 

The candidate from the ruling Democratic Progressive Party, Lai said he would be joined on the ticket by Hsiao Bi-khim, Taipei's de facto ambassador to the United States since 2020. 

Relations between the two have grown more tense under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, who has increasingly complained about China's "aggressive" behaviour while rekindling strong ties with the Philippines' sole treaty ally, the United States.

Indonesia has been intensifying its engagement with its smaller island-nation neighbors amid tensions between the United States and China.

"We will get the view of the Chinese president on what we can do to bring down the temperature, to not escalate the situation in the West Philippine Sea," Marcos said in a video message.  

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos, who has become a close US ally in his more-than one year in power, was on hand when his energy secretary signed the pact with Secretary of State Antony Blinken on the sidelines of an Asia-Pacific summit in San Francisco.

He was responding to a question about the coordinated offensive mounted by rebel groups in several parts of Myanmar.

The leaders shook hands and strolled in a garden at a historic California estate during four-hour talks aimed at preventing growing tensions between the world's largest economies from spiraling into conflict.

Defence ministers in Southeast Asia's regional bloc ASEAN called on Wednesday for a ceasefire in Gaza and a durable solution in Myanmar, as conflicts are deepening there.

Southeast Asian defense chiefs have agreed to strengthen their collaborative efforts amid an increasingly unpredictable global outlook and deepening divides, with concerns over the security of its maritime domain taking on an overarching theme.

The annual get-together, which starts on Wednesday, comes as conflict rages in the Middle East and Ukraine and as tensions ratchet up in disputed waters in the South China Sea, where China is being accused of aggression against the Philippines, which has US backing and seeks to boost its military ties with Japan.

TikTok has already been either partially or completely banned by other countries, with many citing security concerns.

Biden greeted President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo at the White House as the two leaders prepare for a Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in San Francisco, where Washington hopes to reduce friction with Beijing. Biden is due to meet Xi on Wednesday.

A resident of Rathedaung said gunfire was heard before dawn on Monday followed by hours of artillery bombardment, with the military seen blocking entrances to the area and reinforcing administrative buildings.

As a Philippine Coast Guard rubber boat carrying journalists sped towards Filipino troops on a grounded navy vessel in the disputed South China Sea, three Chinese speed boats gave chase.

In recent months, the military, which has faced armed resistance since seizing power in a 2021 coup, has detained a number of officials as the civil conflict batters the already struggling economy.

The Australian government said Saturday that it was responding to a "significant" cyber security incident impacting several of its ports operated by DP World Australia that could last a number of days.

Japan’s International Cooperation Agency (JICA) is assessing a railway development project in the new capital city.

Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman is a member of the Malaysian United Democratic Alliance (MUDA), which in September pulled support for Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's coalition citing corruption concerns after graft charges were dropped against the country's deputy premier. 

The two sides have not formally announced the date but have made arrangements to hold the meeting on the sidelines of the upcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, which the United States is hosting, according to a US official and a Washington-based diplomat, both speaking on condition of anonymity.

The 43-year-old led his Move Forward Party (MFP) to a shock first-place finish in May's general election, buoyed by young and urban Thais weary of a near-decade of military rule -- only to be prevented from becoming premier by royalist and pro-military blocs opposed to his reformist agenda.

Jean-Pierre told a news briefing the meeting would take pace on Monday, confirming an earlier Reuters report.

Almost every dry season, smoke from fires to clear land for palm oil and pulp and paper plantations in Indonesia blankets much of the region, leading to concern for public health as well as disruption to travel and tourism businesses.

In their bilateral meeting, Biden will "reaffirm the US commitment to deepening... (the) nearly 75-year-long partnership between the world's second- and third-largest democracies," a statement from White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said.

The Philippines, Japan and the United States have complained about what they say is growing Chinese aggression in the South China Sea. Beijing says most of the region is part of its territory, a claim hotly disputed by several littoral nations.

Anwar Ibrahim, who has been outspoken among the world’s Muslim leaders in his support for Palestinians amid the latest Israel-Hamas conflict, said that trade could take a hit if Washington were to sanction Kuala Lumpur under the proposed bill.

The date of the meeting was unclear. Jokowi is scheduled to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in San Francisco from Nov. 15-17. 

Beijing says upwards of 150 countries stretching from Uruguay to Sri Lanka have signed up to the BRI, a vast global infrastructure push unveiled by President Xi Jinping a decade ago.