While strikes around the region have mostly ceased since the truce began, there has been no letup in the pressure around the crucial trade route, with the two sides exercising their economic leverage in a bid to force the other to back down.

The office of France's ecology minister Monique Barbut said the two-day meeting would focus on "less contentious issues" in an effort to appease the largest and most powerful G7 member.

China has built artificial islands, airstrips, and military facilities during extensive land reclamation efforts over the years in disputed waters in the South China Sea.

Lawmakers have urged the government to improve clarity in its foreign policy communication, warning that unclear messaging risks misinterpretation by international partners and could undermine Indonesia’s long-standing non-aligned position amid growing scrutiny of recent diplomatic moves.

The Foreign Ministry said all medical facilities "must be respected and protected" under international humanitarian law and called on Israel to cease actions that endanger civilian infrastructure.

There was no response early on Wednesday to Trump's announcement from senior Iranian officials, although some initial reactions from Tehran suggested Trump's comments were being treated skeptically.

The 11-member ASEAN bloc has yet to formally recognize the new Myanmar government. ASEAN leaders will hold a summit next month in the Philippines.

That year was India's hottest year since thorough records began in 1901, with sizzling temperatures following a global pattern of extreme weather driven by climate change.

It is the first instance of a Taiwan president having to cancel a foreign trip due to denial of access to airspace, as lack of diplomatic ties with the island does not normally pose a problem for its leaders in flying over countries.

Companies must respond to the notices in 30 days, with failure to comply exposing them to up to penalties of up to A$825,000 ($590,783) a day

An Indonesian Navy spokesperson said the USS Miguel Keith that passed through the Strait of Malacca on April 14 did not violate any international laws and had respected Indonesia’s status as a coastal state.

The new rules end Japan's self-imposed curb on sales of lethal arms as Tokyo seeks to enter the international arms market, hoping to bolster national defence as well as boost economic growth.

New talks between Lebanon's and Israel's US ambassadors will take place Thursday in Washington after the first direct talks between the two countries in decades was held on April 14.

Britain will launch a package of measures on Tuesday to accelerate the growth of renewable power and reduce the country’s reliance on fossil fuels which have soared in cost due to the conflict in Iran, the government said.

Hundreds of Rohingya refugees die en route from hunger or accidents at sea, but the numbers keep growing as shrinking food rations caused by dwindling international aid push yet more to make the dangerous crossing.

The Philippines and the US have a 12-year-old Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement that allows a rotational presence of American military in Philippine bases without establishing a permanent presence.

Japan will ease decades-old arms export rules, the government's top spokesman Minoru Kihara said on Tuesday, paving the way for the sale of lethal weapons overseas.

The United States and Iran on Monday each warned they were ready for war as the clock ticked on a ceasefire, with uncertainty on talks that President Donald Trump had announced would resume in Pakistan.

"What the Asia-Pacific region most needs is peace and tranquility, and what it least needs is the introduction of external forces to create division and confrontation," Guo Jiakun, a ministry spokesperson, said at a regular press briefing in Beijing.

The warship passed through the strait, which borders Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore, on Saturday, April 18, Indonesian Navy spokesperson First Admiral Tunggul told Reuters.

The war games will feature live-fire exercises in the north of the country facing the Taiwan Strait, as well as a province off the disputed South China Sea, where the Philippines and China have engaged in repeated confrontations.

Thousands of American and Philippine troops, joined for the first time by a significant contingent of Japanese forces, began annual military exercises Monday set against the backdrop of the Middle East war.

Among the vessels that made it through on Saturday, five of them last loaded cargoes from Iran ranging from oil products to metals. Three of them are liquefied petroleum gas carriers with one each heading to China and India.

Victims of Hong Kong’s deadliest fire in decades began government-supervised visits to their ravaged former homes on Monday for the first time since the November blaze, looking to retrieve personal items that might have survived.

Concerns grew on Monday that the ceasefire between the United States and Iran might not hold after the US said it had seized an Iranian cargo ship that tried to run its blockade and Iran vowed to retaliate.

Indonesia has extended its deepest condolences to France over the death of its peacekeeper in southern Lebanon, reiterating its call for enhanced protection of the United Nations peacekeeping missions in the war-torn Middle East country.

US President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Saturday intended to speed up access to medical research and treatment based on psychedelic drugs.