News and politics live updates: ‘Provocation’: China missile reportedly landed near Pacific’s Nauru, Tuvalu

French President Emmanuel Macron has arrived in Syria for talks with President Ahmed al-Sharaa, in the first visit by a European leader since former dictator, President Bashar al-Assad, was ousted from power in 2024.

Macron was greeted at Damascus International Airport on Monday evening by Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shaibani, Reuters said.

“I am here to affirm France’s commitment to the Syrian people. For a sovereign Syria, united in its diversity and at peace with its neighbours. Together, let’s open a new page of stability and peace,” Macron posted on X, according Reuters.

Now to overseas, and the latest death toll in Venezuela following the devastating earthquakes last month has now reached 3535, authorities say.

Meanwhile, almost 18,000 people remain homeless.

Top lawmaker Jorge Rodriguez said the latest official tally showed 16,740 people injured and 17,854 left without housing after the June 24 quakes, which measured magnitudes 7.2 and 7.5 and struck within seconds of each other.

The new figures underscore the scale of the disaster in and around Caracas and La Guaira, the coastal area hit hardest, as criticism mounts over the government’s response.

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Acting Prime Minister Richard Marles has told the ABC that China’s missile didn’t land “particularly close” to Australia, but wouldn’t go into more details other than it landed in the Pacific.

“This is a very significant capability in terms of the range that’s been demonstrated and the means by which it’s been launched from a submarine and what it can carry, and that’s really at the heart of the issue here,” he told ABC News Breakfast.

Beijing has warned Australia not to harm its interests in the Pacific after the Albanese government struck a military alliance with Fiji which could soon include multiple other Pacific nations.

On Monday evening China’s foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning issued a terse response to the defence treaty.

“We do not engage in geopolitical rivalry or seek selfish political games,” she told reporters.

“It is hoped that the country of concern will truly respect the independence of Pacific island nations, focus on their sustainability, such as economic development and avoid targeting any third party or harming the interest of any third party.”

A senior Taiwanese official has released an image of the apparent flight path of a nuclear-capable missile fired by China, showing the warhead hitting waters near Tuvalu and Nauru.

The head of Taiwan’s national security council, Joseph Wu, posted the map claiming the ICBM landing roughly 1000 kilometres north-east of Solomon Islands.

“It’s a provocation that destabilizes the IndoPacific. China just proved itself again to be a bully on the block,” Wu wrote online.

China’s military has test-fired a missile from a nuclear-powered submarine into the Pacific, state media report, drawing criticism and concern from Japan, Australia, New Zealand and Taiwan.

A People’s Liberation Army (PLA) navy submarine launched the missile, carrying a dummy warhead, toward international waters in the Pacific at 12.01pm on Monday, the official Xinhua news agency said.

Xinhua described the launch as a “routine arrangement” of China’s annual military training and not directed against any specific country or target.

Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said the launch was conducted “safely, in a standardised and professional manner throughout”.

“We hope relevant countries will not over-interpret the matter,” she said at a briefing in Beijing.

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Anthony Albanese will join the Solomon Islands’ independence day celebrations as attention turns to a Chinese missile test in the Pacific Ocean.

The launch took place on Monday within hours of Australia and Fiji signing a new mutual defence alliance, known as the Ocean of Peace treaty, in Suva.

Chinese state media said the test was a missile topped with a dummy warhead as part of annual military training.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong said Australia had made it clear to Beijing it considered the test fire “destabilising” to the region.

She confirmed Australia had been warned by China beforehand.

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