PRAYAGRAJ, Jan 14 — Nearly 15 million Hindus, six times the number expected, took a dip in freezing waters seeking absolution of their sins yesterday, the first day of India's festival that could draw the world's largest single gathering of humanity.

DOHA/CAIRO, Jan 13 — Mediators gave Israel and Hamas a final draft of a deal today to end the war in Gaza, an official briefed on the negotiations said, after a midnight “breakthrough” in talks attended by envoys of both Joe Biden and Donald Trump.

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 13 — Malaysia has imposed provisional anti-dumping duties on some exports of flat-rolled iron products or non-alloy steel from China, India, Japan and South Korea, the trade ministry said.

LOS ANGELES, Jan 13 — Firefighters raced to contain the frontiers of two Los Angeles wildfires that burned for the sixth straight day on Sunday, taking advantage of a brief respite in hazardous conditions before high winds were expected to fan the flames anew.

ISLAMABAD, Jan 12 — Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai today urged Muslim leaders to back efforts to make gender apartheid a crime under international law, and called on them to speak out against Afghanistan’s Taliban over its treatment of women and girls.

SEOUL, Jan 12 — South Korea’s impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol will not attend the first formal hearing of the trial to determine if he is removed from office or reinstated because of concerns about his safety, Yonhap News reported, citing his lawyer.

WASHINGTON, Jan 11 — The lawyer for TikTok and its Chinese parent company ByteDance offered a warning during Supreme Court arguments over a law that would compel the sale of the short-video app or ban it in the United States (US): If Congress could do this to TikTok, it could come after other companies as well.

LOS ANGELES, Jan 11 — When wildfires destroyed parts of Los Angeles this week, real estate agent Jenna Cooper started asking friends for clothing and other items to help people in need.

BANGKOK, Jan 11 — A suspected hitman accused of killing a Cambodian former opposition lawmaker in a brazen attack in Bangkok was handed over to Thai authorities today from Cambodia, where he had been arrested after crossing the border.

PHNOM PENH, Jan 11 — Myanmar has gathered all its top officials to chalk out strategic plans to deepen its traditional bilateral cooperation with Asean and ensure its national policies align with the bloc’s vision.

LOS ANGELES, Jan 11 — Business was brisk at Teddy's Cocina in Pasadena as wildfire evacuees ate lunch and passersby ducked indoors to escape from the brown, smoky air blanketing the city.

LONDON, Jan 10 — The family of Thai businessman Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, who died in a helicopter crash in 2018, has brought a legal action against Italian helicopter manufacturer Leonardo SpA in a London court valued at £2.15 billion pounds (RM11.8 billion).

BANGKOK, Jan 10 — Thailand’s Foreign Minister Maris Sangiampongsa is scheduled to attend the Asean Foreign Ministers' Retreat (AMM Retreat) from January 18 to January 19 in Langkawi, Kedah.

MELBOURNE, Jan 10 — Serbian tennis great Novak Djokovic has told magazine GQ that he believes he was "poisoned" during his time in an immigration detention facility in Melbourne ahead of the 2022 Australian Open, reported the German News Agency (dpa).

WASHINGTON, Jan 10 — The US House of Representatives voted yesterday to sanction the International Criminal Court to protest its issuing arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defence minister over Israel's campaign in Gaza.

UNITED NATIONS/NEW DELHI, Jan 10 — Global economic growth is projected to remain at 2.8 per cent in 2025, unchanged from 2024, held back by the top two economies, the US and China, according to a United Nations report released yesterday.

LOS ANGELES, Jan 10 — Billy Crystal lost the Pacific Palisades house where he had lived since 1979.

COPENHAGEN, Jan 10 — President-elect Donald Trump says he wants to make Greenland a part of the United States and does not rule out using military or economic power to get Denmark to hand it over.

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 9 — Global air cargo markets saw robust growth in demand in November 2024, with cargo tonne-kilometres surging by 8.2 per cent compared to a year earlier, said the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

SINGAPORE, Jan 9 — Singapore will step up security checks at its land, air and sea checkpoints from January 9 to January 22, the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) announced.