More than 20 Covid-19 cases have been identified aboard an Australian navy ship sailing to disaster-hit Tonga, complicating aid efforts to the virus-free Pacific island nation as Japan halted its relief mission due to a separate outbreak among crew members.

Images have emerged of a US Navy F-35C stealth fighter crashing into the South China Sea earlier this week.

Images have emerged of a US Navy F-35C stealth fighter crashing into the South China Sea earlier this week.

North Korea fired what is presumed to be a ballistic missile into the waters off the east coast of the Korean Peninsula on Sunday, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said.

Since the turn of the year, North Korea has ramped up missile tests in defiance of international law at a frenetic pace that many who keep a close eye on the rogue state expect to continue.