BEIJING, Nov 21 — China's central bank has told some banks to bring forward some of the loans they plan to extend in early 2024 to late this year and to not overdo lending in the first quarter, three sources with knowledge of the matter said.

NEW YORK, Nov 21 — US multinational tech giant Amazon announced on Monday that it was launching a free skills programme to train people how to work with artificial intelligence (AI).

TOKYO, Nov 21 — The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Monday ordered Toyota Motor Credit Corporation to pay US$60 million (RM279.15 million) in consumer redress and penalties for operating an illegal scheme to prevent borrowers from cancelling product bundles that increased their monthly car loan payments, reported German news agency (dpa).

LONDON / ANKARA, Nov 21 — The Global Food Security Summit kicked off in the British capital on Tuesday with the attendance of representatives from more than 20 countries.

JAKARTA, Nov 21 — Indonesia posted a third quarter current account deficit of $0.9 billion, equivalent to 0.2 per cent  of gross domestic product, the central bank said on Tuesday, much smaller than the previous three months owing to recovering demand in some export commodities.

LOS ANGELES, Nov 21 — Microsoft said the company has hired OpenAI's former chief executive officer Sam Altman and co-founder Greg Brockman.

DOHA (Qatar), Nov 21 — Qatar’s Foreign Ministry called Monday for the formation of an international committee to look into "the crimes committed by the Israeli occupation against civilians in the Gaza Strip." The country’s stance was made in a statement condemning the Israeli bombing of the...

ISTANBUL (Turkiye), Nov 20 — China on Monday opposed forced displacement of Palestinians from the besieged Gaza, emphasising that a cease-fire “should be implemented as a priority goal.” China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi during a meeting with a group of foreign ministers from key member nations...

BEIJING, Nov 20 — China's central bank left its benchmark lending rates unchanged on Monday as any additional easing could weaken the currency, reported dpa-AFX.

MANILA — Tensions in the South China Sea require the Philippines to partner with allies and neighbours to maintain peace there, including establishing codes of conduct as the situation becomes "more dire", the Philippines' president said.

RABAT, Nov 19 — A major governmental organisation of Muslim countries on Sunday strongly condemned the Israeli army’s bombing of the Al-Fakhoura and Tal Al-Zaatar schools in the northern Gaza Strip, describing them "barbaric actions that have become a disgrace to humanity." The Islamic World...

GAZA, Nov 19 — The Israeli army forcibly evacuated about 500 patients from Al-Shifa Hospital in the west of Gaza City, including those who had been injured by its extensive onslaughts, and left them to meet their fate on the streets as they were in serious condition and in need of extensive medical care, the government’s media office in the Gaza Strip said on Saturday.

NEW DELHI, Nov 19 — Prominent Islamic organisations have highlighted the risks to exports by Indian companies if proper halal standards are not maintained following a ban on halal products by the northern state of Uttar Pradesh.

AMSTERDAM/BERLIN/PARIS, Nov 19 — People across Europe continued to take to the streets on Saturday to express solidarity with Palestine and condemn the ongoing Israeli attacks on Gaza, Anadolu Agency reported.

KHAN YOUNIS, JERUSALEM, Nov 19 — Israel, the United States and Hamas have reached a tentative agreement to free dozens of women and children held hostage in Gaza in exchange for a five-day pause in fighting, the Washington Post reported, citing people familiar with the deal.

JERUSALEM, Nov 19 — An analysis Saturday by CNN did not exclude the possibility that the Israeli army "rearranged" weapons it claimed to have found at the Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City before the international media were allowed to visit the site.

GENEVA, Nov 19 —The World Health Organisation (WHO) said Saturday it led a team of United Nations (UN) agencies on an assessment mission to the Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, describing it as a 'death zone.

LOS ANGELES, Nov 19 — SpaceX's giant new rocket Starship on Saturday blasted off on its second test flight but ended prematurely with an explosion minutes after launch, reported Xinhua.

GAZA, Nov 18, — Scores of innocent civilians, including children and women, were feared killed Saturday in an Israeli airstrike targeting the UNRWA-run Al-Fakhura School in Jabalia refugee camp, north of the Gaza Strip, according to medical sources.

MANILA, Nov 18 — The death toll from a magnitude 6.7 earthquake in the southern Philippines has increased to six and authorities are searching for two missing people, local disaster officials said today.