BEIRUT, Nov 23 — A powerful Israeli airstrike targeted central Beirut early on Saturday, security sources said, shaking the Lebanese capital as Israel pressed its offensive against the Iran-backed Hezbollah group.

NEW YORK, Nov 23 — Sean "Diddy" Combs will remain in custody for at least several more days as a US judge considers his bid to be released on US$50 million bail from the Brooklyn jail where the music mogul has been held for 10 weeks.

SEOUL, Nov 22 — South Korea has won international praise for its recycling efforts, but as it prepares to host talks for a global plastic waste agreement, experts say the country’s approach highlights its limits.

BAKU, Nov 22 — The COP29 climate summit presidency released a draft finance deal today that would have developed nations take the lead in providing US$250 billion (RM1.11 trillion) per year by 2035 to help poorer nations — a proposal that drew criticism from all sides.

TAIPEI, Nov 22 — Taiwan President Lai Ching-te will visit Taipei’s three remaining diplomatic allies in the Pacific on a trip starting at the end of the month, his office said today, but the government declined to give details on United States transit stops.

SYDNEY, Nov 22 — US billionaire Elon Musk, owner of social media platform X, has criticised Australia’s proposed law to ban social media for children under 16 and fine social media platforms of up to A$49.5 million (RM143.3 million) for companies for systemic breaches.

WASHINGTON, Nov 22 — Alphabet’s Google must sell its Chrome browser, share data and search results with rivals and take other measures — including possibly selling Android — to end its monopoly on online search, prosecutors argued to a judge on Wednesday.

THE HAGUE, Nov 21 — The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defence chief, as well as a Hamas leader, Ibrahim Al-Masri, for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity, the court said today.

SEOUL, Nov 21 — K-pop music may be South Korea’s buzziest export but the industry needlessly creates mountains of plastic in its home market by churning out CDs that most fans don’t even listen to, critics said.

LONDON, Nov 21 — London has been crowned the world's best city for the 10th consecutive year in the annual World's Best Cities rankings released on Wednesday.

SAN FRANCISCO, Nov 20 — KPMG said today it would spend US$100 million (RM447.2 million) over the next four years to bolster its enterprise artificial intelligence (AI) services through a partnership with Alphabet’s Google Cloud.

BENGALURU/BEIJING, Nov 20 — The United States could impose nearly 40 per cent tariffs on imports from China early next year, a Reuters poll of economists showed, potentially slicing growth in the world’s second-biggest economy by up to one percentage point.

BANGKOK, Nov 20 — Buyers from Myanmar have been snapping up condominiums in Bangkok and other parts of Thailand, providing a bright spark for the kingdom’s sluggish real estate market, as they look to move money out of an economy battered by civil war.

MANILA, Nov 20 — The Philippine National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) has said the reported deaths from the combined effects of typhoons Nika (international name Toraji), Ofel (Usagi), and Pepito (Man-yi) have climbed to seven, with about 820,831 families affected.

SHANGHAI, Nov 20 — Two high-profile mass killings and a car crash at a primary school in just over a week are raising questions about how well-equipped China is to deal with the stresses of a slowing economy and related mental health issues.

MANILA, Nov 20 — A Filipina spared from execution on drug trafficking charges in Indonesia in 2015 will be transferred to the Philippines after years of negotiations between the two Southeast Asian neighbours, said President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

MOSCOW, Nov 19 — Russia has begun serial production of mobile bomb shelters that can protect against a variety of threats including shockwaves and radiation from a nuclear blast.

BEIJING, Nov 19 — A driver in an SUV ploughed into students and pedestrians outside a primary school in southern China today, leaving several people hurt, state media said, as worries spread over a spate of violent attacks in the country over the past week.

CEBU, Nov 19 — The International Monetary Fund (IMF) warned today that “tit-for-tat” tariffs could undermine Asia’s economic prospects, raise costs and disrupt supply chains even as it expects the region to remain a key engine of growth for the global economy.

BAKU, Nov 19 — Asean, with its population of nearly 690 million people, is recognised as a critical region in the fight against climate change, said Natural Resources and Environment Sustainability Minister Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad.