LIMA (Peru), Nov 16 — Joe Biden meets Chinese president Xi Jinping for the last time as US president on Saturday, but the leaders' goal of lowering tensions before Donald Trump's inauguration is challenged by fresh conflicts over cyber crime, trade, Taiwan and Russia.

SHANGHAI, Nov 16 — China is willing to be partners and friends with the United States, China's ambassador to Washington said, seeking to strengthen dialogue between the world's two largest economies.

GENEVA, Nov 15 — Aid access in Gaza is at a low point, with deliveries to parts of the besieged north of the enclave all but impossible, a United Nations humanitarian official said today.

BAKU, Nov 15 — Countries at the COP29 summit tried to make progress on how to raise up to US$1 trillion (RM4.47 trillion) in climate finance for the world’s most vulnerable, as political tensions overshadowed the talks and Argentina yesterday pulled its delegation from Baku.

BEIRUT, Nov 15 — An Israeli airstrike flattened a building near one of Beirut’s busiest traffic junctions today, shaking the Lebanese capital as Israel kept up its intensified bombardment of Hezbollah-controlled areas of the city.

LONDON, Nov 15 — Global health advocates have written to the makers of a key mpox diagnostic test to call a price cut from around US$20 (RM89.53) per test to US$5, to tackle low testing rates in poorer countries badly hit by the virus.

MANILA, Nov 15 — Typhoon Usagi weakened sharply today after bearing down on the Philippines’ northern towns, blowing away houses in its path as authorities brace for another storm that could hit the capital Manila over the weekend.

GENEVA, Nov 15 — The number of measles infections worldwide increased by 20 per cent between 2022 and 2023, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the United States (US) health agency CDC, reported the German News Agency (dpa) on Thursday.

LIMA, Nov 15 — Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Lima on Thursday, kicking off a week-long diplomatic blitz in Latin America by inaugurating the massive Chancay deep-water port, one of Beijing's most ambitious infrastructure investments in Latin America.

SYDNEY, Nov 15 — Any move by the Trump administration to change United States (US) climate policy could benefit Australia's ambitions to attract greater investment to its critical minerals and green energy industry, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Friday.

NARATHIWAT, Nov 15 — The Thai police are not ruling out the possibility that individuals involved in cross-border crimes between Malaysia and Thailand may hold dual identification cards or even dual citizenship.

BRUSSELS, Nov 14 — The European Commission today fined Meta Platforms €797.72 million (RM3.77 billion) over abusive practices benefiting Facebook Marketplace, it said in a statement, confirming an earlier report by Reuters.

DUBAI, Nov 14 — Iran is willing to resolve outstanding disputes over its nuclear programme but won’t succumb to pressure, its foreign minister told the United Nations nuclear watchdog head today, as European countries push for diplomacy before Donald Trump’s return to the White House.

SYDNEY, Nov 14 — Adapting to a sea level rise of up to 0.5m will cost the three most vulnerable Pacific atoll nations nearly US$10 billion (RM44.8 billion) — equivalent to about 20 years of gross domestic product — the World Bank said in a report today.

LOPBURI, Nov 14 — Marauding monkeys won’t face slingshots anymore in the historic Thai city of Lopburi, where they have been rounded up and sterilised after turning rampant over the past four years.

SYDNEY, Nov 14 — New Zealand’s Parliament was briefly suspended today after Maori members staged a haka to disrupt the vote on a contentious bill that would reinterpret a 184-year-old treaty between the British and Indigenous Maori.

LONDON, Nov 14 — There are certain phrases that Wachuka Gichohi finds difficult to hear after enduring four years of living with long Covid, marked by debilitating fatigue, pain, panic attacks and other symptoms so severe she feared she would die overnight.

NEW DELHI, Nov 14 — Toxic smog blanketed northern India today, becoming too thick to see through in several places, as high levels of pollution combined with humidity, low wind speed, and a drop in temperature, officials said.

BRASILIA, Nov 14 — A man killed himself with a bomb outside Brazil's Supreme Court after trying to enter the building on Wednesday, officials said, stirring security concerns before the country hosts global leaders from the Group of 20 major economies.

WASHINGTON, Nov 14 — US President Joe Biden and President-elect Donald Trump met at the White House on Wednesday for transition talks.