A trained prosecutor and diplomat, Bajrakitiyabha was educated in Britain, Thailand and the United States, earning a law degree from Cornell University and serving for a time as Thailand's ambassador to Austria.

Frequent spats have soured ties between China and US ally the Philippines in the past few years, as Manila, under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, pushes back at what it sees as aggression by Beijing.

The United States has reaffirmed its commitment to deepening ties with Indonesia and Southeast Asia, with senior diplomats highlighting expanded cooperation in trade, investment and security as the US marked 250 years of independence.

The possible transfer of Asagiri-class destroyers was discussed when Japanese and Indonesian defense ministers met in Jakarta during a meeting on May 3-4, when they signed a new Defense Cooperation Agreement (DCA).

President Prabowo Subianto has defended the frequency of his overseas trips, arguing that they are necessary to advance Indonesia’s active diplomacy and to maintain its nonaligned foreign policy amid intensifying global rivalries.

At the end of 2025, 117.8 million people worldwide were forcibly displaced from their homes, marking a decline of 5.4 million compared to a year earlier, the UN refugee agency said.

The second straight day of tit-for-tat strikes, with Iran targeting US bases across the Gulf, sent oil prices rising again.

The world experienced its second-hottest May on record, with Europe baking under an unusually early heatwave as climate extremes become the "new normal" on the continent, the EU's climate monitor said Wednesday.

Rescuers in the southern Philippines pulled a body from the rubble of a collapsed supermarket on Wednesday, as the death toll from a major earthquake climbed to 46.

Iranian media reported at least two series of explosions along Iran's southern coast near the Strait of Hormuz.

Foreign Minister Sugiono visited Myanmar on Monday, becoming the first Indonesian minister to travel to Naypyidaw since the 2021 military coup, in a move that signals Jakarta's willingness to re-engage with the junta while reaffirming support for ASEAN-led peace efforts.

The neighbors should strengthen strategic ties and firmly protect their sovereignty, security, and development interests, Xi told Kim, an official Chinese summary of the meeting showed, as Beijing looks to draw Pyongyang closer.

The most direct confrontation between the two countries since April threatened to wreck Washington's efforts to reach an agreement with Tehran to end their more than three-month-old war.

Indonesia has begun preparations for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s planned state visit next month, with Foreign Minister Sugiono visiting his Indian counterpart in New Delhi over the weekend to discuss cooperation between the two countries.

President Prabowo Subianto received letters of credence from eight foreign ambassadors in a ceremony at the Merdeka Palace on Monday afternoon, following public criticism over Jakarta’s delayed accreditation.

A series of powerful aftershocks rocked the area from about two hours after the first quake, according to the United States Geological Survey, with the largest measuring 6.5 magnitude.

The US-Israeli war on Iran has largely cut oil flows via the strait, which before the conflict saw one-fifth of the world's oil pass through. 

China's unwavering policy is to develop ties with the North and both will strengthen exchanges in all areas, Xi said in the Rodong Sinmun newspaper ahead of a visit seen as significant because it is his first international trip this year.

Authorities in the Philippines and Indonesia urged residents in affected coastal regions to move to higher ground immediately, after the offshore quake hit about 24 kilometres west of Mindanao island's Sarangani province, the United States Geological Survey said.

Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guards called the attack a "warning" after Israel struck Beirut's southern suburbs earlier in the day, threatening wider strikes in the event of repeated aggression.

The pope is likely to decry the wars raging around the world and urge dialogue to overcome growing political and social polarization while in Spain.

Seven villagers became trapped in the cave in central Xaysomboun province on May 20 when flash floods blocked their exit as they hunted bats for food and searched for gold in old mining areas.

The US and Iran have been engaged in largely indirect negotiations to secure an interim deal to halt the three-month-old war that would leave issues including Iran's nuclear programme to further negotiations.

The Turkish diplomat arrived in Jakarta on Tuesday evening, welcomed by Foreign Minister Sugiono. Fidan then arrived in Hambalang on Wednesday for a meeting with Prabowo.

President Lee Jae Myung's ruling Democratic Party swept most races but failed to flip the crucial Seoul mayoral seat.

Concerns have mounted over Indonesia’s diplomatic mechanisms and its bureaucratic shortcomings, following a widely circulated claim that over a dozen proposed foreign ambassadors have been stymied for months in their efforts to present their letters of credence to President Prabowo Subianto.

The neighboring countries emphasized the importance of cooperation between Southeast Asian economies to mitigate the impact of global conflicts and tensions, said the top Indonesian and Malaysian diplomats after their bilateral talk.