• First images emerge of Tonga after eruption

The first contactless aid flights arrived in disaster-hit Tonga on Thursday, as the coronavirus-free Pacific island nation takes precautions to keep the virus out of its borders in the wake of a devastating volcanic eruption and tsunami.

A 57-year-old Tongan man being hailed a real-life Aquaman for surviving 27 hours at sea after Saturday's devastating tsunami struck his island said he went under nine times before latching onto a log and making it to safety.

China sent 39 warplanes into Taiwan's air defense identification zone (ADIZ) on Sunday, Taiwan's Defense Ministry said, the largest such incursion this year.

At least 19 people have died after a karaoke bar in Indonesia's West Papua was set ablaze following a brawl between rival gangs of youths in the area, police in the provincial capital of Sorong said on Tuesday.