The Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC), a human rights body of Balochistan, on Tuesday strongly condemned Pashtun "genocide" by the Pakistan government in Waziristan, highlighting the drone attacks on civilian homes and the brutal massacre of children.

"We strongly condemn the drone strikes on civilian homes, the brutal massacre of children and the Pashtun genocide in North Waziristan. The Pashtun land has been subjected to state repression, violence and military brutality for the past several decades. We consider this a clear and systematic Pashtun genocide without any interpretation or vague explanation," read a statement issued by the BYC.

Drawing parallel with the condition in Balochistan, the BYC stated that just as the Baloch nation, the government is pursuing a policy of systematic genocide against the Pashtun people, adding that in the same vein, state brutality and violence continue in Pashtun lands.

Evacuations have been ordered and more than 20 people rescued amid flooding in the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW).

The State Emergency Service (SES) in NSW late on Monday night issued emergency warnings for residents of the towns of Dungog and Paterson, over 140 km north of Sydney in the state's Hunter region, advising them to evacuate by 11:30 p.m.

"If you remain in the area, you may become trapped without power, water, and other essential services. It may be too dangerous for NSW SES to rescue you, and buildings may not be able to withstand the impact of flood water," it said.

Separate warnings issued in the early hours of Tuesday morning for parts of the Hunter towns of Bulahdelah and Gloucester urged residents to evacuate before 6 a.m.

Australia's conservative Coalition has split after the National Party announced it would not re-enter a partnership with the Liberal Party following a historic defeat at the federal election.

David Littleproud, leader of the Nationals, on Tuesday said that the party has made the decision not to enter into a new Coalition agreement for the 48th parliament after a breakdown in negotiations with new Liberal leader Sussan Ley.

It comes after the May 3 election for the 48th parliament, at which the governing centre-left Labor Party was re-elected in a historic landslide.

"The National Party will sit alone on a principle basis," Littleproud told reporters in Canberra.

"On the basis of looking forward, not having to look back, and to try and actually regain important policy pieces that change the lives of the people we represent."

South Korean nationals living or staying abroad went to the polls on Tuesday to pick a new president as overseas voting was underway ahead of the June 3 election, according to embassy officials.

The out-of-country voting will run for six days, with more than 258,000 South Korean nationals, including those registered as absentee voters, eligible to vote at 223 polling stations across 118 countries.

In Japan, some 38,000 out of 411,000 South Korean nationals aged 18 or over with voting rights registered to vote, the South Korean Embassy in Tokyo said.

Polling stations have been set up in Tokyo and other major cities like Yokohama, Osaka, Kobe, Sapporo, Sendai and Fukuoka.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday described his two-hour-long phone conversation with former US President Donald Trump as "substantive" and "productive," raising fresh hopes for a potential breakthrough in the prolonged Russia-Ukraine conflict.

The call, which focused on reviving stalled peace negotiations, marks a significant diplomatic development in the three-year-long war.

"This conversation has effectively taken place and lasted more than two hours. I would like to emphasise that it was both substantive and quite candid. Overall, I believe it was a very productive exchange," Putin told the media following the conversation.

The talks come amid renewed efforts by the United States to facilitate direct negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv.

While discussions between the Russian and Ukrainian sides were initially expected to resume through a high-level meeting between Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Turkey last week, the Russian leader did not attend. Trump, who was on a tour of West Asia at the time, had signalled he might visit the summit but did not make the trip either.

South Korea's military on Monday raised the possibility that North Korea received technological assistance from Russia in developing a new air-to-air missile following the North's test of the weapon last week.

On Saturday, the North's state media reported North Korean leader Kim Jong-un oversaw anti-air combat and air raid drills by an air force flight group earlier in the week, unveiling what appeared to be a live-fire drill involving a new air-to-air missile launched from a MiG-29 fighter jet. Kim was accompanied by a group of party and military officials, including Ri Pyong-chol, general adviser for the munitions policy of the ruling Workers' Party's Central Committee, and Kim Yong-hwan, president of the Academy of Defence Sciences.

"We believe there is an association," Col. Lee Sung-jun, spokesperson for the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), told a regular press briefing, when asked whether the North received arms and advanced technology from Russia in exchange for its troop deployment.

Two people were killed and one person remains missing after multiple pedestrians were struck by a train in Fremont, Ohio, authorities confirmed.

The tragic incident occurred around 7 p.m. on Sunday near the Miles Newton Bridge in Fremont, a city located between Toledo and Cleveland along Lake Erie.

The Fremont Police Department, in coordination with other emergency responders, launched a search operation in the area, focusing on the Sandusky River, where one individual is believed to be missing.

Fremont Mayor Danny Sanchez confirmed the two fatalities, noting that both victims were adults. However, the identities of the deceased have not yet been released, pending notification of their families.

Indirect negotiations between Hamas and Israel resumed on Saturday in the Qatari capital Doha, according to senior Hamas official Mahmoud Mardawi.

Mardawi said the talks are being held under Qatari and US mediation in an effort to reach a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and finalize a hostage exchange deal, without preconditions.

According to the source, the guarantees provided by the United States in the current round of Gaza ceasefire talks appeared to be "more serious," including clear commitments to implementing the terms of any potential agreement.

Meanwhile, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz confirmed on Saturday the resumption of negotiations with Hamas, saying Hamas' return to the negotiation table marks a shift from what he described as a refusal position it has taken so far.

South Korea has discussed ways of enhancing bilateral economic and trade cooperation with the United States, China, Japan and several other partner nations on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting amid heightened uncertainties in the global economic and trade landscape, the industry ministry said.

The two-day APEC Ministers Responsible for Trade Meeting took place on South Korea's southern resort island of Jeju from Thursday, providing an opportunity for trade ministers of regional economies to engage in one-on-one discussions, according the Seoul's Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, reports news agency.

On the sidelines of the meeting, South Korean trade and industry officials held high-level bilateral talks with representatives from 14 of the 20 other APEC member economies, as well as with the director-general of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), to explore avenues for trade cooperation and coordination.

The Israeli military said that it had stepped up its operations in the Gaza Strip, launching a wave of airstrikes and deploying additional ground forces in an effort to establish operational control in parts of the enclave.

The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) on Friday, said the intensified assault marked the start of a new operation codenamed 'Gideon's Chariots,' which aims to expand the scope of fighting and advance key war objectives, including the release of hostages and the dismantling of Hamas.

"IDF troops will continue to operate in order to protect Israeli civilians and achieve the objectives of the war," the military said in a statement.

Earlier this week, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israeli forces would enter Gaza "with full force" in the coming days as part of efforts to defeat Hamas, news agency reported.