WASHINGTON: President Joe Biden made “ironclad” defence pledges to Japan and the Philippines on Thursday as he hosted his counterparts amid growing tensions with Beijing, whose actions the three leaders described as “dangerous and aggressive.

TOKYO: A pure gold bowl priced at about 10 million yen (RM308,616.92) was stolen from a Tokyo department store on Thursday, with police seeking a man caught on camera taking the item, Xinhua quoted local media reports.

SEOUL: South Korea's main opposition Democratic Party (DP) retained a majority in the National Assembly in Wednesday's general elections in another major setback for the ruling People Power Party (PPP) and President Yoon Suk Yeol.

WASHINGTON: One person was killed and five others injured, including two children, after gunmen opened fire into a crowd in northeast Washington on Wednesday, Metropolitan Police Department said, reported Xinhua. .

SANYA: All eight people who were missing after a collision between a fishing boat and a commercial ship off the southwestern coast of south China's Hainan Province have been confirmed dead, the provincial maritime search and rescue centre said Wednesday, reported Xinhua.

JERUSALEM: Israeli warplanes struck a Syrian military position overnight in response to rocket fire on the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights, the military said today.

CAIRO: Talks on a truce in the Gaza conflict are making progress in Cairo and all parties have agreed on basic points, Egypt’s Al-Qahera News state-affiliated TV channel said early today, citing a senior Egyptian source.

CAIRO: A Hamas official told Reuters today that no progress was made at a new round of Gaza ceasefire talks in Cairo also attended by delegations from Israel, Qatar, and the US.

TAIPEI: A toxin suspected as the culprit of a lethal food poisoning outbreak in a Taipei restaurant has been detected in the feces of a chef from the Malaysian restaurant chain Polam Kopitiam's branch in Taipei's Xinyi District, Deputy Health Minister Victor Wang said Saturday.

SEOUL: K-pop girl group Blackpink’s music video "Ice Cream" has topped 900 million views on YouTube, Yonhap news agency reported its management agency said Sunday.