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 concerns for public health. 

The Philippines and Japan have agreed to start negotiations on a Reciprocal Access Agreement (RAA) that would allow both countries to deploy their forces on each other's soil. 

After years of deep rancour between the two trading partners, Anthony Albanese predicted a "constructive discussion" with China's leader and lauded recently improved trade ties.

The tremor hit the far west of the Himalayan country late Friday and was measured by the US Geological Survey at just 18 kilometers deep.

Kishida will meet President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. at the presidential palace to discuss a range of issues, including the South China Sea, where Manila and Beijing have had several confrontations. 

Heavy fighting erupted last week in northern Myanmar's Shan State where an alliance of ethnic minority forces battling for self-determination launched a series of coordinated attacks on junta positions.

The USS Rafael Peralta, an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, and the Royal Canadian Navy's Halifax-class frigate HMCS Ottawa conducted a "routine" transit through the strait on Wednesday, the US Navy said.

Fighting has raged since Friday across a swathe of Myanmar's northern Shan state -- where a billion-dollar rail link is planned as part of Beijing's Belt and Road global infrastructure project.

Najib, 70, is in stable condition and is undergoing quarantine and treatment at the hospital, his aide, Muhamad Mukhlis Maghribi, said.

The disputed islands, called Diaoyu in China and Senkaku in Japan, are claimed by both countries. 

Myanmar has been in crisis since a 2021 military coup and a deadly crackdown that gave rise to a nationwide resistance movement that won the backing of several ethnic minority armies.

Amid an increasingly uncertain geopolitical landscape and recurring internal problems still plaguing ASEAN after decades of its existence, the bloc is at a juncture and must transform itself out of deadlock, diplomats and analysts have warned.

Indonesia has urged countries worldwide to come together to tackle potential international security risks.

Bangladesh is one of the world's largest garment exporters, with the industry accounting for 85 percent of the South Asian country's $55 billion in annual exports.

US ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel said Washington should also look more broadly into how it could help offset China's ban that he said was part of its "economic wars".

The two countries plan to ink a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for the next stage of the project on Jan 11.

More than 336,000 council positions are up for grabs in the long-delayed nationwide vote, including the influential post of village captain.

Wang met Biden and his top aides in Washington in recent days, agreeing to work together toward the expected bilateral meeting on the sidelines of an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum summit.

China had been slated to build two of the rail lines on the main Philippine island of Luzon and the third on southern Mindanao island, officials said. 

Muslim-majority Malaysia on Thursday warned of action against social media firms TikTok and Meta, saying their platforms had been accused of restricting content supporting Palestinians. 

The spacecraft Shenzhou-17, or "Divine Vessel", and its three passengers lifted off atop a Long March-2F rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in northwest China.

Filipino lawyers representing the Myanmar nationals told reporters they lodged the "landmark" criminal complaint against junta chief Min Aung Hlaing and nine others at the Department of Justice in Manila.

Rare earths are a crucial component used in products including mobile phones, hybrid cars and flat-screen televisions, but there are only a few producers outside of China.

Some lawmakers and women's groups in socially conservative Japan had said a ruling that challenges the existing law would sow confusion and undermine women's rights.

The Pentagon report, published Oct. 20, marks the first apparent confirmation that modified submarines seen in Chinese shipyards over the last 18 months are Type 093B guided missile submarines.

Several top U.S. officials including U.S. State Secretary Antony Blinken met their Chinese counterparts in Beijing this summer.

Saudi Arabia, which has faced attacks from Yemen's Houthi rebels using ballistic missiles and drones, has a significant demand for interceptor missiles.

The country's communist government tolerates no opposition to its one-party rule and regularly jails critics, but its recent focus on environmental activists appears to carry a particular message, said Jonathan London, an expert on contemporary Vietnam.

A United Nations representative acknowledged the call for reform within the multilateral organization and call the change 'essential', while admitting that real change will depend on the will of the Security Council's five permanent members.

Thailand has already paid a 7 billion baht ($193.7 million) instalment to China for the purchase of one of three Yuan Class S26T submarines with German-made diesel engines, but the deal was delayed when Germany forbade the use of its engines for Chinese military exports.