Tropical Cyclone Alfred would strike Friday morning near bustling Brisbane city, forecasters said, the first typhoon to hit the region in more than 50 years.  

In a partisan speech to Congress, Trump offered only passing lines on world affairs, focusing on his domestic goals like rounding up undocumented immigrants and slashing government spending.

Trump spoke in the House of Representatives, where lawmakers huddled in fear for their lives a little over four years ago while a mob of Trump supporters ransacked the Capitol in an unsuccessful effort to overturn Democrat Joe Biden's 2020 victory over the then-incumbent Trump.

Monday's move goes beyond the no-new aid stance Trump had taken since assuming office - and appears to halt deliveries of military equipment approved by Biden including munitions, missiles and other systems.

"President Trump has been clear that he is focused on peace. We need our partners to be committed to that goal as well. We are pausing and reviewing our aid to ensure that it is contributing to a solution," said the official on Monday, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

The crackdown is widening against scam centres responsible for carrying out massive financial fraud out of Southeast Asia, especially those on Thailand's porous borders with Myanmar and Cambodia, where hundreds of thousands of people have been trafficked by criminal gangs in recent years, according to the United Nations.

Scientists used one of Australia's most powerful supercomputers to model how melting ice sheets might change the Antarctic Circumpolar Current, which plays a major role in global climate patterns.

Zelensky reiterated that Ukraine would not concede any territory to Russia as part of a peace deal. He said he was still willing to sign a minerals deal with the US and described a discussion on Sunday with European leaders to send a draft peace plan to the US as a key development. 

For his part, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is ready to travel when Trump has time for a meeting and that could be in the northern spring, Jose Manuel Romualdez told reporters on the sidelines of a forum with foreign media in Manila.

Hanoi has frequently sat at the top of IQAir's ranking of the world's most polluted major cities and was rated among the top 10 polluted capitals by the Swiss monitoring company in 2023.

Since the wildfire began Wednesday, at least one person has died, and more than 80 homes have burned, local authorities said.

The holy month, during which hundreds of millions of faithful around the world observe a daytime fast, traditionally begins with the sighting of the crescent moon.

Observers have warned during a regional cyber conference this week that Southeast Asia is likely to see an increase in cyber attacks and online scam cases, calling on countries in the region to enhance their cyber readiness. 

Friday's announcements marked the second time this month the Trump administration has declared an emergency to quickly approve weapons sales to Israel.

The acrimonious shouting match was a gift to Moscow, which is working to build ties with Trump's new administration while trying to discredit Zelensky and undermine his legitimacy.

An agreement between Ukraine and the United States to jointly develop Ukraine's rich natural resources, which Kyiv and its European allies had hoped would usher in better relations, was left unsigned and in limbo.

Democrats accused Trump and Vance of doing Russian leader Vladimir Putin's "dirty work" after they berated Zelensky in front of the world's media. 

It cited Shoigu, Russia's former defence minister, as saying he was in China on behalf of President Vladimir Putin and noting how aligned Moscow and Beijing were when it came to various international issues.

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim hosted Shoigu at his office, and the Russian former defence chief who is now secretary of Moscow's Security Council was also due to meet with Malaysian Defence Minister Mohamed Khaled Nordin.

Myanmar handed over 84 Indonesians to Thailand on Thursday, local officials said, the latest group of alleged scam center workers set to be repatriated from the region.

Trailed by security personnel warning them not to block the busy halls, the federal workers filed into the offices of multiple Republican senators, including majority leader John Thune, to voice their distress.

Huy Duc worked for influential state-run newspapers before authoring one of Vietnam's most popular blogs and Facebook accounts, where he criticized the country's communist leaders on issues such as corruption, media control and relations with China.

Holding his first cabinet meeting Wednesday, Trump said the Ukrainian president's visit to Washington was "now confirmed", after days of tension between the two leaders over the minerals deal.

Senior law minister Yusril Ihza Mahendra and Malaysia Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution have agreed to form a joint team for prisoner exchange between both countries.

Mitchell Ring said a passenger died part-way through the 14-hour flight from Melbourne to Doha last week.

Trump said sales of the new visa, a high-price version of the traditional green card, would bring in job creators and could be used to reduce the US national deficit.

President Prabowo Subianto welcomed Russia’s top security official Sergei Shoigu at the Merdeka Palace on Tuesday afternoon as Jakarta and Moscow seek to strengthen defense cooperation, despite concerns from rights groups over the latter’s invasion of Ukraine.