Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi and US President Joe Biden held a phone conversation to discuss the intensive mediation efforts undertaken by Egypt, the US, and Qatar to reach a ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip and exchange prisoners and detainees.

During the conversation on Tuesday, both leaders stressed the importance of the concerned parties' commitment to overcoming obstacles and showing the necessary flexibility to reach an agreement, the Egyptian presidency said in a statement.

Sisi emphasised the need to reach an immediate ceasefire agreement to put an end to the serious humanitarian suffering of the citizens in the Strip, and spare the region the consequences of expanding the conflict, news agency reported.

The two presidents also highlighted the importance of continuing to strengthen bilateral relations in all fields, especially given the strategic relations between the two countries.

Earlier in the day, Qatar's Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Majed Al Ansari confirmed that the Gaza ceasefire talks in Doha have reached an advanced stage.

Investigators detained impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol at his residence on Wednesday in their second attempt to take him into custody for questioning over his short-lived imposition of martial law.

A warrant to detain Yoon was executed at 10:33 a.m., according to the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO), marking the first time a sitting president has been arrested, news agency reported.

A convoy of vehicles carrying Yoon left the presidential residence compound in central Seoul shortly afterward to head to the CIO office in Gwacheon, just south of Seoul.

Yoon was seen stepping out of a car and entering the office to undergo questioning before investigators seek a warrant to formally arrest him within 48 hours.

Yemen's Houthi group said in a statement that it targeted a power plant in the southern Israeli port city of Eilat, using a "winged missile."

"The attack achieved its goal successfully," Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Sarea said in the statement aired by Houthi-run al-Masirah TV.

Also, Sarea said his group carried out another attack against Israel, targeting vital targets in Tel Aviv city with several bomb-laden drones, news agency reported.

He vowed that his group's attacks against Israel "will not stop until Israel stops war in Gaza and lifts its siege."

The attacks against the power station in Eilat and targets in Tel Aviv came a few hours after the Houthi group took responsibility for launching a ballistic rocket attack against the Israeli Defence Ministry.

Reacting strongly to reports of the death of an Indian national in Russia, India on Tuesday reiterated its demand for the early discharge of the remaining Indians currently serving the Russian Army in the conflict zones.

"We have learnt of the unfortunate death of an Indian national from Kerala who had apparently been recruited to serve in the Russian Army. Another Indian national from Kerala, who was similarly recruited, has been injured and is receiving treatment in a hospital in Moscow," said Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal.

Offering condolences to the family of the deceased, the senior diplomat stated that the Indian Embassy in Moscow is in touch with the families, and all possible assistance is being rendered.

The United Nations and aid partners are responding to deadly Tropical Cyclone Dikeledi battering southeast Africa with high winds and heavy rain, UN humanitarians said.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said the UN partners began working with local authorities after the cyclone made landfall on Saturday in northern Madagascar, the same area hit by deadly Cyclone Chido nearly a month ago, news agency reported.

OCHA's latest ReliefWeb status alert reported that Dikeledi's center was over the Mozambique Channel, approximately 75 km east of the coast of Nampula province in northeastern Mozambique. It passed just south of Mayotte, the island where Cyclone Chido inflicted heavy death and destruction.

The government of Madagascar reported that three people were killed and more than 350 displaced to several temporary sites. More than 5,200 people were directly affected, nearly 1,300 homes flooded, and five health centers were damaged.

South Korea will set up tailored strategies for different scenarios in the wake of potential changes in the US trade policy following the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump next week, the industry ministry said on Tuesday.

"If the United States introduces detailed trade protectionism measures, significant impacts on South Korea's exports will be inevitable," the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said in a policy report.

"There are also concerns protectionist measures could spread among major markets in a chain reaction," it added, reports news agency.

The ministry said it is currently formulating strategies based on "accurate data" to counter potential moves by the Trump administration to implement protectionist measures targeting countries with trade surpluses with the US.

US President Joe Biden cited taking the Quad to the "next level" among the major foreign policy achievements of his outgoing administration and noted that hosting the leaders at his home for the last summit showed "we're really friends."

Biden on Monday said he strengthened America's bilateral and multilateral alliances and partnerships, such as NATO and the Quad; forged new ones, such as AUKUS with the United Kingdom and Australia, and weakened America's adversaries, such as Russia, China and Iran.

He also spoke at length about his decision to pull the US out of Afghanistan, ending the country's longest war.

"The United States is winning the worldwide competition compared to four years ago," Biden said in a speech at the State Department.

"America is stronger. Our alliances are stronger, our adversaries and competitors are weaker."

About 92,000 people remain under mandatory evacuation orders and 25 dead due to the Los Angeles wildfires in the western US, and another 89,000 are under evacuation warnings, Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna told reporters.

At least 25 people have died and more than a dozen others remain unaccounted for as multiple wildfires rage across the Los Angeles area.

The fierce wildfires in Los Angeles County, fueled by severe drought conditions and strong winds, scorched over 40,500 acres, and destroyed more than 12,300 structures as of Monday, news agency reported.

The Palisades Fire, the largest one, was 14 per cent contained, and the Eaton Fire, the second largest, was 33 per cent contained as of Monday morning, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire).

Iran and three European powers -- France, Britain and Germany -- have agreed to restart discussions on lifting sanctions and Tehran's nuclear program, a senior Iranian diplomat said.

Kazem Gharibabadi, Iran's deputy Foreign Minister, announced this on social media platform X as a new round of talks began in Geneva between Iran, the three countries, and the European Union. The talks are expected to cover a range of issues, including how the countries relate to each other, as well as problems in the region and the world, news agency reported.

Gharibabadi said the talks were "serious, frank, and constructive," adding they went into detail about removing sanctions and the nuclear issues needed for a deal.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar said on Monday that "progress" has been achieved in the talks held in Qatar on a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas that will secure the release of the hostages.

"There is progress in the negotiations to release the hostages," Sa'ar said during joint remarks alongside Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen, who is on a trip to the region.

"Israel very much wants to release the hostages and is working hard to reach a deal," Sa'ar said.

One sticking point in the indirect negotiations has been the nature of the ceasefire. Hamas is demanding a permanent truce, while Israel seeks a temporary pause, maintaining the option to resume military operations if necessary for security reasons.