Malaysia's Muhyiddin gains backing for PM bid after indecisive election

Malaysia's former premier Muhyiddin Yassin secured backing from two political blocs on Sunday as he sought to form a new government after a general election produced a hung parliament, but he had yet to win the required majority.

Muhyiddin, of the Perikatan Nasional coalition, said he had won support from two regional blocs based in the island of Borneo. That would boost his alliance's seat tally from 73 to 101 - still short of the required 112 majority.

"I am confident I will obtain enough support from lawmakers that will enable me to be appointed by the king as Prime Minister," he said, without saying which other parties might back him. read more

G7 calls for 'significant' U.N. response to North Korea missile launches

The United Nations' Security Council needs to take "significant measures" in response to the latest intercontinental ballistic missile launch by North Korea, foreign ministers of the Group of Seven (G7) major industrialised nations said on Sunday.

The Security Council is set to discuss North Korea in a meeting on Monday at the request of the United States, following the latest in a series of missile test launches this year.

"(North Korea's) actions demand a united and robust response by the international community," the ministers of the United States, Japan, Canada, Germany, Britain, France and Italy said. read more

Indonesia quake kills more than 50, injures hundreds and destroys homes

A 5.6-magnitude earthquake killed more than 50 people and injured hundreds in Indonesia's West Java province on Monday, with rescuers trying to reach survivors trapped under the rubble amid a series of aftershocks as night fell.

West Java Governor Ridwan Kamil confirmed 56 deaths from the quake, whose epicentre was the town of Cianjur, about 75 km (45 miles) southeast of the capital, Jakarta, where some buildings shook and some offices were evacuated.

Indonesia straddles the so-called "Pacific Ring of Fire", a highly seismically active zone, where different plates on the Earth's crust meet and create a large number of earthquakes and volcanoes. read more

Crypto lender Genesis says no immediate plans to file for bankruptcy

Cryptocurrency lender Genesis said on Monday it has no immediate plans to file for bankruptcy, days after the collapse of crypto exchange FTX forced it to suspend customer redemptions.

"We have no plans to file bankruptcy imminently. Our goal is to resolve the current situation consensually without the need for any bankruptcy filing," a Genesis spokesperson said in an emailed statement to Reuters, adding that it continues to have conversations with creditors.

A report from Bloomberg News, citing sources, said Genesis was struggling to raise fresh cash for its lending unit, and warning investors it may need to file for bankruptcy if it does not find funding. read more

Erdogan says Turkey to attack Kurdish militants with tanks, soldiers

President Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday that Turkey would attack militants with tanks and soldiers as soon as possible after retaliatory strikes escalated along the Syrian border between Turkish forces and a Kurdish militia.

"We have been bearing down on terrorists for a few days with our planes, cannons and guns," Erdogan said in a speech. "God willing, we will root out all of them as soon as possible, together with our tanks, our soldiers."

Bankman-Fried's FTX, senior staff, parents bought Bahamas property worth $300 mln

Sam Bankman-Fried's FTX, his parents and senior executives of the failed cryptocurrency exchange bought at least 19 properties worth nearly $121 million in the Bahamas over the past two years, official property records show.

Separately, attorneys for FTX said on Tuesday that one of the company's units spent $300 million in the Bahamas buying homes and vacation properties for its senior staff, and that FTX was run as a "personal fiefdom" of Bankman-Fried. No further details were given. read more

Malaysia's Anwar becomes prime minister, ending decades-long wait

Malaysia's Anwar Ibrahim was sworn in as prime minister on Thursday, capping a three-decade political journey from a protege of veteran leader Mahathir Mohamad to protest leader, a prisoner convicted of sodomy and opposition leader.

His appointment ends five days of unprecedented post-election crisis, but could usher in a new instability with his rival, former prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin, challenging him to prove his majority in parliament.

The 75-year-old Anwar has time and again been denied the premiership despite getting within striking distance over the years: he was deputy prime minister in the 1990s and the official prime minister-in-waiting in 2018. read more

Americans celebrate Thanksgiving under shadow of two more mass shootings

The United States marked the Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday with traditional feasts, parades and American football, taking a moment to celebrate in a week shadowed by gun violence.

The official holiday dates to the Civil War, when President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed the last Thursday of November as a day to give thanks and seek healing. U.S. schoolchildren learn to trace the holiday to Pilgrims who landed at Plymouth Rock in 1620 and celebrated the autumn harvest with the Wampanoag peoples. Among Native Americans, Thanksgiving is a day of dark reflection on the genocide that followed.

Americans were mourning this year in the wake of a pair of deadly shootings. On Saturday, an attacker opened fire in an LGBTQ nightclub in Colorado Springs, Colorado, killing five people. On Tuesday, a Walmart employee gunned down six coworkers and turned the gun on himself in Chesapeake, Virginia. read more

Thousands of Australians strip for Tunick cancer awareness photo shoot

Some 2,500 people took off their clothes on Saturday to pose for U.S. photographic artist Spencer Tunick at Sydney's Bondi Beach in an effort to raise awareness about skin cancer.

Tunick, known for staging mass nude photo shoots at world landmarks, used a megaphone to direct attendees into several poses on the beach before many took a naked dip in the ocean.

The New York-based artist collaborated with a charity on the naked art installation in a bid to raise awareness about melanoma, Australia's fourth most common form of cancer. The federal government estimates that this year 17,756 new cases of skin cancer will be diagnosed in Australia, and 1,281 Australians will die from the disease. read more

Protests erupt in Xinjiang and Beijing after deadly fire

Public anger in China towards widening COVID-19 lockdowns across the country erupted into rare protests in China’s far western Xinjiang region and the country's capital of Beijing, as nationwide infections set another record.

Crowds took to the streets on Friday night in Xinjiang's capital of Urumqi, chanting "End the lockdown!" and pumping their fists in the air, after a deadly fire on Thursday triggered anger over their prolonged COVID-19 lockdown according to videos circulated on Chinese social media on Friday night.

In the capital of Beijing 2,700 km (1,678 miles) away, some residents under lockdown staged small-scale protests or confronted their local officials over movement restrictions placed on them, with some successfully pressuring them into lifting them ahead of a schedule. read more

Belgium-Morocco World Cup match triggers riots in Brussels, dozen people detained

Belgian police detained a dozen people and made one arrest on Sunday after Morocco's victory over Belgium in the World Cup match in Qatar triggered riots in Brussels with a car and some electric scooters set on fire.

The riots took place in several places across the Belgian capital where dozens of soccer fans, some draped in Moroccan flags, clashed with riot police with water cannons and tear gas.

"Around 7 p.m. calm returned and preventive patrols remain in place in the sectors concerned," police spokesperson Ilse Van de Keere said. read more

Exclusive: U.S. weighs sending 100-mile strike weapon to Ukraine

The Pentagon is considering a Boeing proposal to supply Ukraine with cheap, small precision bombs fitted onto abundantly available rockets, allowing Kyiv to strike far behind Russian lines as the West struggles to meet demand for more arms.

U.S. and allied military inventories are shrinking, and Ukraine faces an increasing need for more sophisticated weapons as the war drags on. Boeing's proposed system, dubbed Ground-Launched Small Diameter Bomb (GLSDB), is one of about a half-dozen plans for getting new munitions into production for Ukraine and America's Eastern European allies, industry sources said. read more

Exclusive: South Korea’s Yoon warns of unprecedented response to North Korea nuclear test, calls on China to do more

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol warned of an unprecedented joint response with allies if North Korea goes ahead with a nuclear test, and urged China to help dissuade the North from pursuing banned development of nuclear weapons and missiles.

In a wide-ranging interview with Reuters on Monday, Yoon called on China, North Korea’s closest ally, to fulfil its responsibilities as a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council. He said not doing so would lead to an influx of military assets to the region.

"What is sure is that China has the capability to influence North Korea, and China has the responsibility to engage in the process," Yoon said in his office. It was up to Beijing to decide whether it would exert that influence for peace and stability, he added. read more

Exclusive: India asked by sanctions-hit Russia for parts for key sectors

Moscow has sent India a list of more than 500 products for potential delivery including parts for cars, aircraft and trains, four sources familiar with the matter said, as sanctions squeeze Russia's ability to keep vital industries running.

The list, a version of which has been seen by Reuters in New Delhi, is provisional and it is unclear how many of the items will eventually be exported and in what quantity, but an Indian government source said the request was unusual in its scope.

During the Moscow visit, Jaishankar said India needed to boost exports to Russia to balance bilateral trade that is now tilted towards Russia. read more

Trump 'unlikely' to be president after hosting Fuentes, top Republican McConnell suggests

The top two Republicans in the U.S. Congress broke their silence on Tuesday about former President Donald Trump's dinner last week with white supremacist Nick Fuentes, saying the Republican Party has no place for antisemitism or white supremacy.

Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell and Representative Kevin McCarthy, who may become speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives when Republicans take control in January, had not commented previously on the Nov. 22 meeting.

Trump began his 2024 bid for the White House on Nov. 15, and is Republican voters' top choice, according to opinion polls. read more

South Korea scrambles jets as China, Russia warplanes enter air defence zone

South Korea's military said it scrambled fighter jets as two Chinese and six Russian warplanes entered its air defence zone on Wednesday.

The two Chinese H-6 bombers repeatedly entered and left the Korea Air Defence Identification Zone (KADIZ) off South Korea's southern and northeast coasts starting at around 5:50 a.m. (2050 GMT Tuesday), Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said.

They re-entered the zone hours later from the Sea of Japan, known in South Korea as the East Sea, together with the Russian warplanes, including TU-95 bombers and SU-35 fighter jets, and left after 18 minutes in the KADIZ, the JCS said.

China and Russia have previously said their warplanes were conducting regular joint exercises. read more

Elon Musk expects Neuralink to begin human trials in six months

Elon Musk said on Wednesday a wireless device developed by his brain chip company Neuralink is expected to begin human clinical trials in six months, and one of its first targeted applications is restoring vision.

The company is developing brain chip interfaces that it says could enable disabled patients to move and communicate again. Based in the San Francisco Bay Area and Austin, Texas, Neuralink has in recent years been conducting tests on animals as it seeks U.S. regulatory approval to begin clinical trials in people.

"We want to be extremely careful and certain that it will work well before putting a device into a human but we've submitted I think most of our paperwork to the FDA and we think probably in about six months we should be able to have our first Neuralink in a human," Musk said during a much-awaited public update on the device. read more

U.S. appeals court rejects Biden's bid to revive student debt plan

A federal appeals court on Wednesday declined to put on hold a Texas judge's ruling that said President Joe Biden's plan to cancel hundreds of billions of dollars in student loan debt was unlawful.

The New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the Biden administration's request to pause a judge's Nov. 10 order vacating the $400 billion student debt relief program in a lawsuit pursued by a conservative advocacy group.

The decision by Fort Worth, Texas-based U.S. District Judge Mark Pittman was one of two nationally that has prevented the U.S. Department of Education under the Democratic president from moving forward with granting debt relief to millions of borrowers. read more

Ukraine says Russia pulls back forces from river towns opposite Kherson

Ukraine's military on Thursday said Russia had pulled some troops from towns on the opposite bank of the Dnipro River from Kherson city, the first official Ukrainian report of a Russian withdrawal on what is now the main front line in the south.

The statement gave only limited details and made no mention of any Ukrainian forces having crossed the Dnipro. Since Russia abandoned Kherson, nine months into its invasion of Ukraine, the river now forms the entire southern stretch of the front.

Russia has already told civilians to leave towns within 15 km of the river and withdrawn its civilian administration from the city of Nova Kakhovka on the bank. read more

Israel's Netanyahu reaches coalition deal with far-right Religious Zionism party

Israeli Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu reached a coalition deal with the far-right Religious Zionism party, bringing him closer to securing a new government after an election last month, Netanyahu's Likud party said on Thursday.

Religious Zionism will be given control of the Finance Ministry as part of a rotation, Likud said, though it did not lay out how the rotation would work. It will also have strong influence over policies in the occupied West Bank and the country's justice system.

The deal nets Netanyahu control of 46 of the Knesset's 120 seats so far.

Israel's Army Radio reported that Bezalel Smotrich, 42, who heads Religious Zionism, would serve as finance minister at the outset and will then be replaced. read more

Japan, Britain and Italy to announce joint fighter project as early as next week - sources

Japan, Britain and Italy will announce a groundbreaking agreement as early as next week to jointly develop a new advanced jet fighter, two sources with knowledge of the plan told Reuters.

For Tokyo and London it represents the culmination of ever closer defence ties, which in turn give Britain a bigger security role in Asia and provide Japan with new security partners that can help it counter neighbouring China's growing military power.

The push to merge the British led Tempest jet fighter project with Japan's F-X fighter programme was first reported by Reuters in July. It will be the first time that Japan has collaborated with countries beyond the United States on a major defence equipment project. read more