Reuters

The U.N. Security Council on Tuesday called for the full, equal and meaningful participation of women and girls in Afghanistan, denouncing a ban by the Taliban-led administration on women attending universities or working for humanitarian aid groups.

Oil prices climbed on Wednesday as markets were optimistic about fuel demand recovery as China continues to ease its COVID-19 restrictions.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan slid 0.13%, snapping a two-day winning streak and looking set to end the last month of the year in the red.

Global LNG supply has been tight since Russia invaded Ukraine and cut gas supply flows to Europe, leading European nations to import record amounts of LNG cargoes, straining global supplies and elevating prices.

Moscow has been calling its invasion in Ukraine a "special military operation" to "demilitarise" and "denazify" its neighbour. Kyiv and its Western allies call it an imperial-style aggression to grab land.

Brent crude was up 88 cents, or 1.1%, at $84.80 a barrel by 0253 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was at $80.44 a barrel, up 88 cents, or 1.1%.

Moscow on Monday said it had shot the drone down causing it to crash at the Engels air base, where three service members were killed. Under its usual policy on incidents inside Russia, Ukraine did not comment.

Sberbank is one of several major Russian banks to have been blocked from the international SWIFT payments system and some senior executives have been personally hit by sanctions.

Three Russian military personnel were killed early on Monday by falling wreckage of a Ukrainian drone that was shot down as it was attacking a base in Russia's Saratov region, Russian news agencies reported, citing the defence ministry.

In an interview aired separately on Sunday, Putin said Russia is ready to negotiate with all parties involved in the war, but said that Kyiv and its Western backers have refused to engage in talks.

Turkey is in talks with Russia to use the airspace above northern Syria for a potential cross-border operation against the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia, Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar said on Saturday.

This year, Israeli authorities have approved travel for nearly 600 Palestinian Christians in Gaza.

Nationwide protests sparked by the death in custody of Iranian Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini have ushered Iran into a new era of crisis.

North Korea's foreign ministry denied a media report it supplied munitions to Russia, calling it "groundless," and denounced the United States for providing lethal weapons to Ukraine, the North's official KCNA news agency reported on Friday.

Oil prices rose on Friday on expectations of lower Russian crude exports from the Baltic region in December, offsetting worries that a looming Arctic storm across the United States could snuff out transport fuel demand growth this holiday season.

Over 4,400 flights have been canceled over a two-day period as a powerful winter storm hits the United States, coinciding with the start of a holiday season that some predict could be the busiest ever.

The United States on Thursday imposed sanctions on 10 Russian naval entities over Russian operations against Ukrainian ports, the U.S.

Bankrupt crypto exchange FTX has asked a U.S. bankruptcy judge for permission to pay its top restructuring lawyers as much as $2,165 per hour, an unusually high rate for a company that cannot afford to repay all of its debts.

Russian airlines have held exploratory talks with at least one major Western leasing firm about using state funds to buy some of the more than 400 aircraft stranded in Russia after its invasion of Ukraine, according to documents and sources.

Private sector advisers of Japan's top economic council on Thursday called on the government to step up talks on how to ensure wages rise faster than inflation, opening the door for a shift way from a decade-long focus on deflation.

Iran's foreign minister said on Wednesday he spoke with his Saudi counterpart on the sidelines of a conference in Jordan the previous day, the highest-level encounter reported between officials from the rival states since they cut ties in 2016.

Female university students in Afghanistan were turned away from campuses on Wednesday after the Taliban-run administration said women would be suspended from tertiary education.

Israel's longest-serving prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said on Wednesday he had secured a deal to form a new government after weeks of unexpectedly tough negotiations with religious and far-right coalition partners.

Oil prices rose for a fourth straight day on Thursday with U.S. crude, heating oil and jet fuel stocks seen tight just as a chilly blast hits the United States and travel is set to soar for the holiday season.

Militants being held at the centre took control of the compound on Sunday after overpowering their interrogators and taking their weapons,

Asian stocks were trying get into a festive mood on Wednesday, and managed small gains with even Japan's Nikkei lifting off a two-month low it hit following the Bank of Japan's surprise decision to loosen its tight leash on government bond yields.

Oil prices rose in early Asian trade on Wednesday as U.S. crude stocks were seen falling last week, while the dollar weakened, making oil less expensive for non-American buyers.

Pakistani army commandos on Tuesday stormed a counter-terrorism centre and killed militant detainees who had seized control of the facility, as well as rescuing their hostages, after talks failed to resolve a two-day standoff, the defence minister said.

As a corruption scandal rocks the European Parliament, lawmakers and campaign groups say a lack of asset declarations, little reporting on contacts with third countries and barely any sanctions created an environment where rule-breaking could go unpunished or undetected.