Reuters

Oil prices held their ground on Wednesday after tumbling in the previous session as markets braced for minutes from the U.S. Federal Reserve's December policy meeting.

Russia's defence ministry on Wednesday blamed the illegal use of mobile phones for a deadly Ukrainian missile strike that killed 89 servicemen, raising the reported death toll significantly.

The move was condemned by Palestinians as provocative and despite warnings, it could lead to violence.

The European Parliament said on Monday it had begun a procedure to waive the immunity of two of its members after a request from Belgian judiciary investigating a European Union-Qatar corruption scandal.

Oil prices slid on Monday from their highest levels in a month on a stronger dollar and after the head of the International Monetary Fund warned of a tougher 2023 as major economies experience weakening activity.

India's manufacturing industry ended 2022 on a solid footing as business conditions improved at the fastest rate in over two years while growth in new orders and output accelerated, a business survey showed on Monday.

The Philippines' main gateway scrambled to resume full services on Monday after a New Year power outage jolted its air traffic control and disrupted 300 flights, prompting calls from business leaders and a top senator for urgent action.

A teenager accused of attacking three policemen with a machete on New Year's Eve near Times Square was charged with attempted murder and attempted assault, New York police said on Monday, in an incident the New York Times said was linked to Islamic extremism.

Russia acknowledged that dozens of its troops were killed in one of the Ukraine war's deadliest strikes, angering Russian nationalists, including lawmakers, and drawing demands for commanders to be punished for housing soldiers alongside an ammunition dump.

A Russian missile attack destroyed an ice arena in the town of Druzhkivka in Ukraine's Donetsk region on Monday, Ukraine's ice hockey federation said, following earlier reports of a missile hitting the town and injuring two people.

U.S. President Joe Biden's national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, is planning a trip to Israel this month after the formation of a new government topped by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a White House official said on Monday.

The Taliban-led administration is facing increased isolation over policies in recent days restricting women from access to public life.

Russia has been targeting Ukraine's critical infrastructure in a series of drone attacks early on Monday on Kyiv and the region surrounding it, officials said.

For much of the global economy, 2023 is going to be a tough year as the main engines of global growth - the United States, Europe and China - all experience weakening activity, the head of the International Monetary Fund said on Sunday.

"Policies will continue to be used in order to permanently increase the weight of the Turkish lira on both the asset and liability sides of the banking system," the bank said.

This was to ensure Japan will be able to import the fuel from the Sakhalin-2 gas and oil project in Russia's Far East at the height of peak winter demand.

Now, even after the recent reopening of the world's biggest gambling hub, tourists are few and many businesses are shuttered, underlining analysts' views that a recovery will be uneven and take some time.

Although Sadr won a parliamentary majority in a 2021 election, he chose to withdraw in August after his failed, year-long bid to form a cabinet without rivals close to Iran.

Benjamin Netanyahu will need all his experience as Israel's longest-serving prime minister as he returns at head one of the most right-wing governments in the country's history, facing division at home and unconcealed alarm abroad.

Olekskiy Kuleba, governor of Kyiv region, said on Telegram that an "attack by drones" was under way.

Prices surged in March to a peak of $139.13 a barrel, a level not seen since 2008, after Russia invaded Ukraine and sparked supply and energy security concerns.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.71% and was set to end December flat.

Record profits this year by oil companies benefiting from high energy prices have boosted inflation around the world and led to fresh calls to further tax the sector.

Zelenskiy, in an annual speech held behind closed doors because of Russia's war, said Ukraine's military resistance against the Kremlin had reinvigorated a belief in values across the world.

The ban on female aid workers was announced by the Islamist Taliban-led administration on Saturday.

Fending off criticism, Netanyahu has repeatedly pledged to promote tolerance and pursue peace. "

The scale of the latest outbreak and doubts over official data prompted some countries to enact new travel rules on Chinese visitors, even as China began dismantling the world's strictest COVID regime of lockdowns and testing.

The free food programme, however, cost the government around $47 billion, worsened the fiscal deficit and reduced wheat stocks in government warehouses to multi-year lows.

Ukraine's recently liberated southern city of Kherson suffered intense mortar and artillery attacks from Russian forces across the Dnipro river, while the Kremlin rejected a Ukrainian peace plan, demanding that Kyiv accept its annexation of four regions.