In a unanimous statement backed by China, the council strongly condemned the violence that has forced more than 600,000 Rohingya to flee across the border to Bangladesh.

The council expressed “grave concern” over human rights violations, “including by the Myanmar security forces” against the Rohingya such as killing, sexual violence and burning of homes and property.

It called on the government “to ensure no further excessive use of military force in Rakhine state, to restore civilian administration and apply the rule of law.”

The statement included most of the demands contained in a draft resolution presented last month by Britain and France, but that measure ran into strong opposition from China, a supporter of Myanmar’s former ruling junta.

China had indicated it was willing to resort to its veto power to block a resolution, but Beijing finally agreed to a statement during negotiations, diplomats said.

Since late August, more than 600,000 Rohingya have been driven from their homes by an army campaign that the United Nations has described as ethnic cleansing.

Myanmar authorities say the military operation is aimed at rooting out Rohingya militants who staged attacks on police posts.

The Rohingya have faced decades of discrimination in Buddhist-majority Myanmar and have been denied citizenship since 1982, which has effectively rendered them stateless.

Council members called for full access for humanitarian aid workers to Rakhine and said the government must address the root causes of the crisis by allowing “equal access to full citizenship.”

The statement did not, however, threaten sanctions.

Addressing the council, Myanmar’s Ambassador Hau Do Suan said the statement “exerts undue political pressure on Myanmar” and warned it could exacerbate religious tensions.

– China on board –

During negotiations with China, language on citizenship rights was watered down, along with a demand that Myanmar allow a UN human rights mission into the country, diplomats said.

The statement calls on Myanmar to cooperate with the United Nations and encourages UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to appoint a special advisor on the crisis.

France and Britain stressed that the top UN body was issuing “demands” to Myanmar and that Guterres would report on progress in 30 days.

Through the statement, “the Security Council expresses a strong and unanimous message to end the ethnic cleansing that is taking place before our eyes in Myanmar,” said French Ambassador Francois Delattre.

“We will judge Myanmar on how they act. They have 30 days before the secretary-general will report,” said British Deputy UN Ambassador Jonathan Allen.

The council statement was clinched as Guterres prepares to travel to Manila this week to join leaders of the Southeast Asian bloc ASEAN for a summit during which the Rohingya crisis will be a top issue.

Rights groups have accused the Security Council of dragging its feet and are calling for sanctions against those involved in the atrocities in Rakhine.

“Going forward, council members should be clear that they won’t be held hostage by China’s objections, and will instead be driven by the needs of victims and realities on the ground, not what makes China comfortable,” said Akshaya Kumar, Human Rights Watch deputy UN director.

Sunday’s carnage, which came just five weeks after the worst gun massacre in modern US history, saw a gunman wearing a bulletproof vest use an assault rifle to open fire on the congregation of a small-town Texas church, killing 26 people and wounding 20 more.

“I think that mental health is your problem here,” Trump told journalists when asked if gun control could reduce the rampant firearms violence plaguing the US.

Speaking in Tokyo as part of his Asia tour, the US president dubbed the gunman “deranged” and said the most recent mass shooting to hit the US “isn’t a guns situation.”

The victims, who ranged in age from five to 72, were gunned down at First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, a rural community of some 400 people 30 miles (50 kilometers) southeast of San Antonio.

The gunman, widely identified as Devin Kelley, 26, was described by authorities as a young white male who was found dead in his vehicle after being confronted by a local resident.

The Air Force said Kelley served at a base in New Mexico starting in 2010 before being court-martialed in 2012 on charges of assaulting his wife and child.

He was sentenced to 12 months in confinement and received a “bad conduct” discharge, Air Force spokeswoman Ann Stefanek told AFP. He was discharged in 2014.

Dressed all in black, Kelley fired outside the church before entering the building and continuing to spray bullets, said Freeman Martin, regional director of the Texas Department of Public Safety.

“As he exited the church, a local resident grabbed his rifle and engaged that suspect. The suspect dropped his rifle, which was a Ruger AR assault-type rifle, and fled from the church. Our local citizen pursued the suspect at that time,” Martin said.

Law enforcement later found Kelley dead in his car, which had crashed on the Wilson-Guadalupe county line. It was not clear if he had killed himself or was shot by the resident who had confronted him.

– Multiple weapons –

Multiple weapons were found in the car, which was processed by bomb technicians.

“We have multiple, multiple crime scenes. We have the church, outside the church. We have where the suspect’s vehicle was located,” said Martin.

“We have been following up on the suspect and where he’s from. We have Texas Rangers at all the hospitals locating those and interviewing those who were injured.”

“There’s so many families who have lost family members. Fathers, mothers, sons, and daughters,” Governor Greg Abbott said, warning the toll could rise.

“The tragedy, of course, is worsened by the fact that it occurred in a church, a place of worship, where these people were innocently gunned down. We mourn their loss, but we support their family members.”

The wounded had been transported to various hospitals with “injuries that vary from minor to very severe,” Martin said.

The dead included the 14-year-old daughter of pastor Frank Pomeroy, the church leader told ABC News.

Annabelle Renee Pomeroy “was one very beautiful, special child,” her father said.

Frank Pomeroy had been in the neighboring state of Oklahoma at the time of the shooting, and was driving back to Texas after the tragedy.

Other victims, some of whom were evacuated by helicopter, included a six-year-old boy named Rylan who was in surgery after being shot four times, his uncle told CBS News. A two-year-old was also shot and wounded, The Dallas Morning News reported.

A spokeswoman for Connally Memorial Medical Center in nearby Floresville said the hospital received eight patients with gunshot wounds. Four were transferred to San Antonio.

– Trump vows ‘full support’ –

Late Sunday mourners held a candlelight vigil for victims in the tiny town left reeling in the aftermath of the nation’s latest bloodbath.

Trump called the “horrific shooting” an “act of evil,” ordering flags be flown half-staff at the White House and federal buildings.

“Our hearts are broken but in dark times — and these are dark times — such as these, Americans do what they do best: we pull together,” he said.

Though he said “it’s a little bit soon to go into it” regarding calls for gun control, the president promised his administration’s “full support” for the investigation.

As with many other previous shootings, Democrats pointed to the latest tragedy to highlight the need for stricter gun control, a hot-button issue in a country that holds the right to bear arms as almost sacred.

In denouncing the “act of hatred,” Trump’s predecessor Barack Obama said: “May God also grant all of us the wisdom to ask what concrete steps we can take to reduce the violence and weaponry in our midst.”

The shooting comes just over a month after a gunman in Las Vegas fired down from a hotel room at an outdoor concert, killing 58 people and wounding hundreds. It was the deadliest mass shooting in modern US history.

A little more than two years ago, white supremacist Dylann Roof entered a historically black church in Charleston, South Carolina, and shot nine people dead.//AFP

Trump and his host Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe began by delicately spooning out the food into the pond to the waiting koi, which had been rounded up by a clapping Japanese aide.

The US leader apparently lost patience with this method and upended his entire wooden box into the pond.

US President Donald Trump (L) and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (R) feed koi fish during a welcoming ceremony in Tokyo on November 6, 2017.  // AFP PHOTO

However, it turned out that Trump was merely following his host’s lead, as Abe had previously sprinkled out the remains of his box into the pond.

The incident caused outrage among fish lovers on Twitter, with many pointing out that fish cannot absorb a large amount of food at a time.

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, standing just behind Trump, appeared to break out in laughter at his boss’s no-nonsense approach to koi feeding.

But some uncharitable Twitter users were less forgiving, with several writing: “Trump can’t even feed fish right.”

    Most of the men, women and children held documents issued by the UN’s refugee agency when they were detained by police in Bangkok on October 21, 30 and 31, according to watchdog Fortify Rights.

A total of 19 children were initially arrested, with six — including four unaccompanied Somali minors — still in detention, the watchdog said.

Many of the adults were charged with overstaying their visas or other immigration violations.

Fortify Rights director Amy Smith called for their swift release and lambasted Thai authorities for “trampling on the rights of asylum seekers”.

“Asylum seekers fleeing persecution in their home countries shouldn’t experience further violations in Thailand,” she said.

Thailand’s porous borders, lax visa requirements and reputation for religious tolerance have made the kingdom a magnet for refugees fleeing persecution around the globe.

But the government refuses to differentiate between illegal immigrants and refugees, leaving asylum seekers vulnerable to arrest and deportation as they wait out years-long vetting processes by the UNHCR.

Once their temporary visas expire, asylum seekers can been picked up on immigration charges at any time and thrown in Bangkok’s grim detention centres, where many languish for long periods.

Thailand allows the UNHCR to operate inside the country, where the agency is tasked with handling some 7,000 refugee cases.

But authorities often ignore the UNHCR’s “person of concern” documentation and have previously deported even some refugees lucky enough to secure approval for resettlement in third countries.

The asylum seekers living in Thailand’s shadows hail from nearly 50 countries around the globe, with Pakistanis — many of them Christian — making up the biggest block.

Trump’s predecessor Barack Obama sparked a firestorm of criticism during one trip to Japan when he was photographed in an almost 90-degree bow to the diminutive Emperor Akihito.

US conservatives chided Obama for the act of deference towards Akihito, the son of wartime emperor Hirohito, in whose name Japanese troops fought in World War II.

So all eyes were on the meeting between the two heads of state in famously polite Japan where bowing is a way of life.

But the gaffe-prone Trump appeared to plot a respectable middle ground, slightly inclining his head upon meeting the 83-year-old despite towering over him.

The two couples were then led to a room where they engaged in deep conversation with the aid of interpreters.

Trump aides have been nervous about keeping the notorious ad-lib president on message during his gruelling Asia tour — the longest by a US leader since 1991.

And Trump is the second unorthodox world leader to meet the emperor in the space of a week.

Last Monday, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, not generally known for his respect of formal protocols, also received an audience at the imperial palace.

The occasionally foul-mouthed Duterte pledged to “limit my mouth” before his trip to Tokyo and Japanese media reported that he was on his best behaviour.

Japanese tabloid Yukan Fuji said the meeting was peaceful and Duterte bowed repeatedly towards the emperor and the empress afterwards.//AFP

Flagged as “the first universal museum in the Arab world”, it sits on the low-lying Saadiyat Island, a developing tourism and culture hub 500 metres (1,600 feet) off the coast of the United Arab Emirates’ capital.

It is the first museum to open on the island, also the site of the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, which is still under construction.

‘Geometry with lights’

French architect Jean Nouvel was inspired by the island’s position “between sand and sea, shade and light”, the Louvre website says.

“I also wanted to play on this idea of openness, that of a desert open to the sea,” the winner of the prestigious Pritzker Architecture Prize told AFP in September.

The site comprises 55 white buildings reminiscent of traditional Arab medinas.

Two-thirds of the museum is covered by a dome, 180 metres in diameter, which provides welcome shade from the scorching Gulf sun.

Pierced with 7,850 star-like openings formed by the layering of the building’s structure, like interwoven palm leaves, the dome is intended to resemble silver lace.

“For me, great Arab architecture (is) geometry with lights,” Nouvel said.

As the museum put it, “sun filters through the dome like a delicate, protective rain of light… reflecting the constant interplay of light and shadow in the country.”

The vast project claims to be “the first museum of its kind in the Arab world: a universal museum that focuses on shared human stories across civilisations and cultures”.

30-year accord

The museum’s price tag was initially estimated at $654 million, to be put up by Abu Dhabi under a deal signed with France in 2007.

But costs have risen due to funding and construction delays.

Under the 30-year agreement, France provides expertise, loans works of art and organises temporary exhibitions — in return for one billion euros ($1.16 billion).

The Louvre in France takes a 400-million-euro share of that sum for the use of its name up to 2037.

For the next 10 years, the Paris museum will lend works to its Abu Dhabi partner on a voluntary basis, for a maximum of two years.

For its permanent collection, the museum has acquired hundreds of pieces, dating from the earliest Mesopotamian civilisations to the present day.

Thirteen top French museums, including the Musee d’Orsay and the Palace of Versailles, will also loan the Louvre Abu Dhabi 300 works of art over the first year.

These include Leonardo da Vinci’s “La Belle Ferronniere”, “Napoleon Crossing the Alps” by Jacques-Louis David, and a self-portrait by Vincent Van Gogh.//AFP

Trump’s high-stakes visit to the region was overshadowed by what the president described as a “horrific shooting” in Texas, where a gunman killed at least 26 people and wounded 20 more during Sunday services.

“Our hearts are broken,” he told business tycoons in Tokyo.

Trump began his marathon trip in belligerent form, warning on Sunday that “no dictator” should underestimate US resolve, a clear swipe at North Korea and its young leader Kim Jong-Un.

However he then appeared to open the door for talks with Pyongyang, saying in an interview broadcast on US TV that he would “certainly be open” to meeting Kim.

“I would sit down with anybody,” he said. “I don’t think it’s strength or weakness, I think sitting down with people is not a bad thing,” he said on the “Full Measure” show.

“So I would certainly be open to doing that but we’ll see where it goes, I think we’re far too early.”

The president arrived in Asia with tensions over North Korea at fever pitch, as US bombers fly sorties over the Korean peninsula and concerns mount that Pyongyang might stage another nuclear or missile test.

‘Really extraordinary’ relationship

Hawkish Abe and Trump are closely allied on the North Korea issue, with the Japanese prime minister sticking firmly to the US line that “all options” are on the table to deal with the rogue state.

“The closeness of the relationship is unprecedented. And the degree to which US and Japanese strategies are aligned, both on the Korean Peninsula but also throughout the Indo-Pacific, is also unprecedented,” a senior Trump administration official said Sunday.

That closeness was demonstrated on the first day, when the two golfing buddies hit the course within hours of Trump touching down on Japanese soil.

Both leaders later tweeted images of their nine-hole encounter, with Abe saying the “relaxed” nature of their game allowed them to have “candid” discussions on some “difficult” issues.

However, that did not stop Trump lashing out at the trade relationship with Japan on Monday, saying it had been “winning” for decades at the expense of the United States.

“We want fair and open trade but right now our trade with Japan is not fair and open,” Trump told business leaders.

“The US has suffered massive trade deficits with Japan for many, many years. So we will have to negotiate and we will do this in a friendly way.”

Focus on human rights

Trump will on Monday meet families of civilians kidnapped by North Korea to train their agents in Japanese culture and language — an emotional issue that still angers Tokyo.

North Korea has admitted to kidnapping 13 Japanese civilians but Japan believes the regime took dozens more, including a 13-year-old girl abducted on her way home from school.

“You are going to see some focus on the often overlooked question of human rights conditions in NK,” said the White House official.

Trump stressed US military power and resolve while wearing a bomber jacket in front of service personnel when he landed in Japan, but speaking to reporters on the plane, he reserved some warm words for the North Korean people.

“I think they’re great people. They’re industrious. They’re warm, much warmer than the world really knows or understands. They’re great people. And I hope it all works out for everybody,” he said.

However, he described North Korea as “a big problem for our country and for our world and we want to get it solved”.

Trump also announced that he would hold talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin during his trip, as the global community scrambles for a solution to the North Korean crisis.

“We want Putin’s help on North Korea,” he said.

After meeting the Emperor and Empress of Japan, Trump holds talks with the prime minister and will brief the media before a final banquet with his “friend” Abe.

But Trump’s Asian tour is set to become more testing as he flies to South Korea, then on to China.

Trump has a cooler relationship with South Korean President Moon Jae-In, whose dovish approach to the crisis he has denounced as “appeasement”.

The president will address the parliament in Seoul but will not visit the Demilitarized Zone dividing the Korean peninsula — a visit derided in Washington as a bit of a “cliche.”

From Seoul, Trump travels to Beijing to meet his counterpart Xi Jinping who has solidified his grip on power after being handed a second term.

Speaking to Japanese and US business leaders on the second day of his Asia tour, Trump complained that the trade relationship between the pair was “not fair and open.”

“I have to say for the last many decades Japan has been winning,” he said.

“Many millions of cars are sold by Japan into the United States whereas virtually no cars go from the United States into Japan.”

“The US has suffered massive trade deficits with Japan for many, many years. So we will have to negotiate and we will do this in a friendly way.”

Trump has formed a strong bond with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and the pair already discussed trade in an informal setting on the golf course on Sunday.

His nearly two-week Asian tour is set to be dominated by the North Korea nuclear and missile crisis but US officials have also made it clear that trade is high on their agenda.

The White House has sought to emphasise the length of the five-nation tour — the longest by any US president since George H.W. Bush in 1991 — as evidence of Trump’s commitment to engaging with the region.

But doubts linger, most notably on the economic front following Trump’s abrupt decision — three days into office — to pull out of the TPP Trans-Pacific trade deal, unsettling several signatories and Japan in particular.

Nevertheless, Trump again stressed his close bond with Abe, saying he “cherished” his friendship with the Japanese leader, whom he called a “terrific person.”

“The prime minister is ordering a lot of military equipment, as he should be with what’s happening,” said Trump in an allusion to North Korea, which has threatened to “sink” Japan into the sea.

They are currently being sheltered at 62 evacuation centres.

The number of evacuees on Sunday night was 3,779.

Seberang Perai Utara district recorded the highest number of flood victims with 3,371, who are being housed at 30 centres, followed by Seberang Perai Tengah district with 2,119 staying at 27 centres.

The affected areas in Seberang Perai Utara are Sungai Dua, Nyior Sebatang, Lahar Yooi and Desa Murni while those in Seberang Perai Tengah are Kampung Tanjung Putus and Permatang Tinggi.

Thirty-three people are being sheltered at one centre in Seberang Perai Selatan district; 130 victims at two centres in Barat Daya district; and 192 people at two centres in Timur Laut district.

Meanwhile, Royal Malaysian Police, Civil Defence Force and Fire and Rescue Department personnel have been up and about from 6am to assist Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) and Sijil Tinggi Persekolahan Malaysia (STPM) students get to their schools for the respective examinations.

Almost the whole of Penang is flooded, with several areas inundated by 0.2m to 1m of floodwaters as a result of heavy rain and strong winds since Thursday.

The flood, reported to be the worst the state has ever experienced, has claimed seven lives.

In addition, nearly 10 per cent of Bruneians aged 40-69 years have a more than 30 per cent chance of suffering from a heart attack or stroke within the next decade, along with an alarming tendency among young people to display symptoms of heart disease. These statistics were cited by Dato Seri Setia Dr Awang Haji Zulkarnain bin Haji Hanafi, the Minister of Health, in his address yesterday at the opening ceremony for the 22nd Asean Federation of Cardiology Congress (AFCC), being held in conjunction with the Brunei Cardiac Society Annual Scientific Meeting and Gleneagles JPMC Congress, at The Rizqun International Hotel. “If the worrying trend continues,” he said, “premature deaths from cardiovascular disease will not only severely impact our families and community, but also our economic development. No single intervention or drug will reverse the trend.

“Many studies have shown that the vast majority of patients who have undergone cardiac interventions do not make the necessary lifestyle changes to reduce cardiovascular risks. How then, can we drive the importance of secondary and tertiary prevention down to practitioners, that it is reflected in the patients’ behaviour?”

Since cardiac rehabilitation and behavioural modification are integral parts of the intervention, the minister said that he hoped to see these important topics being discussed during the congress.

He also mentioned that Brunei Darussalam had chaired the Asean Health Ministers Meeting and other related conferences last September, where the alarming levels of obesity across the region was high on the agenda.

He noted, “Sedentary lifestyles, unhealthy diets, lack of physical activity and smoking are all known preventable risk factors, which need urgent attention. The challenges in addressing these issues are not faced by only one single state alone, but concerns us all, and as such, our response to this challenge must be a collective one.”

With knowledge-sharing across national borders being one key tool towards addressing these concerns, the minister concluded his speech on the hope that the Asean Federation of Cardiology (AFC) and the Brunei Cardiac Society would play their respective roles in furthering the agenda towards a more healthy Asean.