The death toll from the Philippines' torrential rains and floods in Visayas and Mindanao has climbed to 25, the country's new agency (PNA) reported on Wednesday.
Rescue teams across nine provinces in the Philippines raced on Wednesday to try to locate 26 people missing in one of its deadliest weather events this year.
"Search and rescue operations continue, led by the coast guard as most of them were missing fishermen," the disaster agency's Diego Agustin Mariano told DZMM radio.
The rain-induced floods and landslides are unlike previous disasters in the Philippines, which are typically triggered by more severe typhoons and tropical storms, of which the archipelago nation usually sees about 20 each year.
The agency also recorded more than 300 flooded areas and 20 rain-induced landslides, which collectively have forced more than 80,000 people to take shelter in evacuation centres. Most of the floods have since subsided.
Members of the World Health Organisation (WHO) adopted an agreement on Tuesday intended to improve preparedness for future pandemics following the disjointed global response to COVID-19, but the absence of the US cast doubt on the treaty's effectiveness.
The United Nations has received permission from Israel for about 100 more emergency aid trucks to enter Gaza, though the first supplies to have entered in weeks remained under Israeli control, a spokesperson said on Tuesday.
The leaders of Britain, Canada and France threatened sanctions against Israel on Monday if it does not stop a renewed military offensive in Gaza and lift aid restrictions, piling further pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The New Zealand government on Tuesday deferred a vote over the rare suspension of three Indigenous lawmakers from parliament for performing a haka, the Maori ceremonial dance, during the reading of a contentious bill last year.
The UAE's Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation is urging private sector companies with 50 or more employees to meet their Emiratisation targets for the first half of 2025.
The Central Bank of the UAE has imposed a financial penalty of AED 200 million on an exchange house for serious violations of anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing regulations.