LONDON, Dec 18 — The Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) announced on Tuesday that it has fined tech-giant Meta 251 million euros (US$263.7 million) for a personal data breach affecting 29 million Facebook accounts globally, reported Xinhua.

LONDON, Dec 17 — A new long-acting preventive HIV drug could reach the world’s poorest countries by the end of 2025 or early 2026, a global health official told Reuters today.

NEW YORK, Dec 17 — Donald Trump yesterday lost a bid to overturn his criminal conviction stemming from hush money paid to a porn star in light of the United States Supreme Court’s July ruling recognising immunity from prosecution for a president’s official acts.

HONG KONG, Dec 17 — China announced today a relaxation of its visa-free transit policy, extending the permitted stay for eligible foreign travellers to 240 hours, or 10 days, from the original 72-144 hours, as authorities aim to lure more foreign visitors.

MADISON (WISCONSIN), Dec 17 — A 15-year-old girl opened fire in a school classroom here yesterday, fatally shooting a fellow student and a teacher and wounding six other people before killing herself with the handgun, police said.

WASHINGTON, Dec 17 — The head of a US-based Syrian advocacy organisation yesterday said that a mass grave outside of Damascus contained the bodies of at least 100,000 people killed by the former government of ousted President Bashar al-Assad.

NEW DELHI, Dec 17 — India directed schools to move to hybrid mode for some grades, asked government offices to stagger timings for staff and imposed restrictions on vehicles in Delhi and adjoining regions as air quality deteriorated in the country's north yesterday.

BEIRUT, Dec 17 — Syria's Bashar al-Assad issued his first statement since being toppled from power, saying he was evacuated to Russia from the Hmeimim base on December 8 as it came under drone attack, after leaving Damascus that morning with rebel fighters closing in.

ANKARA, Dec 16 — At least 52 more Palestinians were killed in Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip in the last 24 hours, bringing the overall death toll since last year to 45,028, Anadolu Agency (AA) reported, citing the Palestinian Health Ministry on Monday.

BERLIN, Dec 16 — Chancellor Olaf Scholz will call on Germany's parliament on Monday to declare it has no confidence in him, taking the first formal step towards securing an early national election following his government's collapse.

PARIS/MORONI — Several hundred people and possibly even thousands may have been killed when the most powerful cyclone in nearly a century hit the French Indian Ocean archipelago of Mayotte, a senior local French official said yesterday.

RIYADH, Dec 16 — Saudi Arabia and Qatar condemned an Israeli decision yesterday to expand settlement building in the occupied Syrian Golan Heights.

CAIRO, Dec 16 — Israeli strikes in Gaza killed at least 53 Palestinians, including a journalist and rescue workers, medics said, and the Israeli military said its air and ground forces in the north of the enclave killed dozens of militants and captured others.

SEOUL, Dec 16 — South Korea's finance ministry vowed yesterday to continue to swiftly deploy market stabilising measures as needed to support the economy after President Yoon Suk Yeol was impeached over his brief imposition of martial law.

SEOUL, Dec 15 — South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol's impeachment on Saturday, suspending him from his official duties, capped 11 days of political crisis that roiled his country, sparked by his surprise decision to impose martial law.

SEOUL, Dec 15 — South Korea’s People Power Party’s (PPP) floor leader Kweon Seong-dong has said that the ruling party has rejected a proposal by the country's main opposition party to set up a consultative body to stabilise the operation of state affairs, reported Xinhua.

LONDON, Dec 15 — The United Kingdom (UK) officially became the 12th member of a trans-Pacific trade pact which includes Japan, Australia, and Canada on Sunday, as it seeks to deepen ties in the region and build its global trade links after leaving the European Union (EU) in 2016.

ORLANDO, Dec 14 — Boeing and Lockheed Martin’s joint rocket venture, United Launch Alliance (ULA), plans to upgrade a version of its Vulcan rocket to challenge SpaceX’s Starship in the low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite launch market, the company’s chief executive officer said.

SEOUL, Dec 14 — South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol was impeached today in a second vote by the opposition-led Parliament over his short-lived attempt last week to impose martial law, a move that shocked the nation and split his party.

TEHRAN, Dec 14 — Iran will not impede the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog’s access and inspection of its sites, the head of the country’s Atomic Energy Organisation said today.