AC exhaust units are a common feature of urban landscapes in many parts of Asia, clinging like limpets to towering apartment blocks in Hong Kong or tucked in a cross formation between the windows of a building in Cambodia.

The ministry said it would "for the first time in history" use a digital spokeswoman to read its statements, which will still be written by humans.

Norway retained its top position, while Eritrea came last, taking over from last year's lowest-ranked country, North Korea. 

A working draft lays out principles and proposals aimed at putting back on track a US-led effort to reshape the volatile region that was derailed by Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel and the outbreak of war in Gaza, according to two sources who have seen the document.

Labour seized the constituency of Blackpool South, in the northwest of England, in the latest by-election defeat for the Tories as it appears on course to lose an upcoming general election.

The UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization warned of an increase in violence against and intimidation of journalists reporting on the environment and climate.

Like much of Southeast Asia -- where schools have recently been forced to close early and electricity usage has surged -- southern and central Vietnam have been scorched by devastating heat.

Philippine officials have said a coast guard ship and a fisheries vessel were damaged when Chinese coast guard vessels fired water cannons at them while on their way to the disputed Scarborough shoal on Tuesday to help Filipino fishermen at sea. 

Blinken "reiterated the United States' clear position on Rafah," State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said, two days after Blinken again voiced opposition to an assault over concerns for the safety of civilians sheltering in the southern Gaza city. 

Truce proposal envisages return of 33 Israeli hostages.

McDonald's has described the boycott's greatest impact as in the Middle East, while also pointing to effects in markets like Malaysia and Indonesia and in parts of France where the Muslim population is higher.

The occupation began overnight when protesters broke windows, stormed inside and unfurled a banner reading "Hind's Hall," symbolically renaming the building for a 6-year-old Palestinian child killed in Gaza by the Israeli military.

Hundreds of demonstrators, many wearing traditional Palestinian keffiyeh scarves, marched around the perimeter of the encampment chanting, "Disclose! Divest! We will not stop, we will not rest."

The Philippine coast guard said its two vessels stood their ground at the Scarborough Shoal, a key battleground in the South China Sea, but one sustained damage from use of water cannon by two Chinese coast guard ships.

Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong called on the new leaders of Indonesia and Singapore to bring ties between the two countries to "greater heights", while President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo urged them to ensure the full implementation of both countries' milestone deals.

The crisis in his Scottish National Party (SNP) opens the door to the opposition Labour Party regaining ground in its former Scottish heartlands before a national election - bolstering its chances of taking power nationwide from Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's Conservative Party. 

The ICC - which can charge individuals with war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide - is investigating Hamas' Oct. 7 cross-border attack and Israel's devastating military assault on Hamas-ruled Gaza, now in its seventh month.

The visit to France marks the Chinese leader's first European tour since the coronavirus pandemic.

The meeting, a long-held tradition in which the countries’ leaders and ministers meet informally each year to discuss ways to strengthen ties, was the seventh and final one for both leaders, who will be leaving office in 2024.

Two years of talks towards sealing a landmark accord on prevention, preparedness and response hit the deadline last month with nothing agreed in terms of concrete wording. The next deadline is the May 27 start of the World Health Organization's annual assembly of member states. 

As the size of the pro-Palestinian encampment at the University of California at Los Angeles expanded in recent days, counter-protesters have become increasingly vocal and visible on the campus, although both sides remained peaceful until Sunday. 

In Gaza City, in the north of the strip, Israeli planes struck two houses, killing and wounding several people, health officials said.

The annual leaders’ retreat between President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and his Singaporean counterpart Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong will be a swansong for the two outgoing leaders and the first meeting between their successors, president-elect Prabowo Subianto and Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, respectively.

Extreme heat has scorched Southeast Asia in recent days, prompting thousands of schools to suspend in-person classes and authorities to issue health warnings. 

Other officials upheld support for Israel's representation.

The small airport near a wildlife sanctuary on the southern coast opened in 2013 but was immediately plagued by problems, and has been a running sore on state coffers since. 

Health secretary Xavier Becerra said in a statement the matter "has garnered historic attention and the public comment period has yielded an immense amount of feedback, including from various elements of the civil rights and criminal justice movement.