Exclusive-Top development banks at COP28 vow to up climate game, quiet on fossil fuels – document

DUBAI (Reuters) - Ten of the world's top development banks pledged to step up their climate efforts at the COP28 summit, yet failed to say anything about halting financing for fossil fuel projects, a document seen by Reuters showed. In a statement to be announced at the event in Dubai, the group, including the World...

North Korea says interference in its satellites would be declaration of war

SEOUL (Reuters) -North Korea said on Saturday it would consider any interference with its satellite operations a declaration of war and would mobilise its war deterrence if any attack against its strategic assets were imminent. Pyongyang would respond to any U.S. interference in space by eliminating the viability of U.S. spy satellites, state media KCNA...

Trafficking victims in Myanmar forced to sell organs: charity

HANOI: Trafficking victims held against their will in Myanmar and forced to work in scamming operations are being forced to sell their organs if they don't meet quotas, a charity in Vietnam said Thursday (Nov 30). At least 120,000 people are being held in compounds in the country, according to the UN human rights office,...

Hundreds of Rohingya refugees set sail from Bangladesh

AT least three boats carrying hundreds of Rohingya refugees set sail from Bangladesh this week, the latest in a wave of migrations that has seen more than 1,000 asylum seekers arrive on Indonesian shores. Bangladesh is home to around one million Rohingya refugees, most of whom fled a violent 2017 crackdown by the Myanmar military...

Melaka hotels look abroad for Christmas decoration ideas

MELAKA: The competition to unveil the most interesting Christmas decorations among hotels here has begun. One hotelier even flew to London to get inspiration and order ornaments in a bid to create Yuletide fairyland vibes. Shah Beach Resort's general manager Dennis Samford said he made a trip overseas to look for hand-painted Christmas art, toy soldiers...

39 Palestinians freed in first Hamas-Israel prisoner exchange deal

RAMALLAH (Bernama-Anadolu): The first batch of 39 Palestinian prisoners was released from the Israeli Ofer prison in the west of Ramallah, as part of the Hamas-Israel prisoner exchange deal. Anadolu Agency (AA) reported that Israel and Hamas on Friday (Nov 24) conducted the first prisoner exchange since the start of the conflict on Oct 7. Under...

Collapsed Indian tunnel had no safety exit, was built through geological fault – panel member

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - A tunnel which collapsed, trapping 41 workers in the Indian Himalayas this month, did not have an emergency exit and was built through a geological fault, a member of a panel of experts investigating the disaster said on Friday. Rescuers are still struggling to reach the construction workers 12 days after...

US recession? Look at what rich Americans do on Black Friday

RICH Americans are curtailing their spending ahead of Black Friday, a worrisome sign for an economy that has so far depended on the US consumer to stave off a recession. In the three months ahead of the all-important holiday shopping season, a group of retailers that cater to the upper middle class – including Apple,...

Trump congratulates Argentine libertarian Milei on election win

(Reuters) - Former U.S. President Donald Trump congratulated libertarian Javier Milei, an outsider with radical views to fix the economy, on being elected president in Argentina on Sunday. "The whole world was watching! I am very proud of you. You will turn your Country around and truly Make Argentina Great Again!" Trump wrote on his...

China’s Xi calls for Asia-Pacific regional peace as he wraps up US trip

SAN FRANCISCO: Chinese President Xi Jinping reiterated that his country will stick to a path of peaceful development as he wrapped his first visit to the US in six years, having eased tensions between the world’s top two economies. "The fundamental goal of China’s development is to improve the well-being of the Chinese people, not...