Reuters

Oil prices dropped in early trade on Tuesday, weighed down by concerns about slowing fuel demand in top crude importer China amid strict COVID-19 curbs.

Turkey's army needs just a few days to be ready for a ground incursion into northern Syria and such a decision may come at a cabinet meeting on Monday, Turkish officials said, as Turkish forces bombarded a Kurdish militia across the border.

After years of tension, a handshake between Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi last week opened the door to a flurry of back-door diplomacy between intelligence officials, two sources told Reuters.

The first World Cup in the Middle East has become a showcase for the political tensions crisscrossing one of the world's most volatile regions and the ambiguous role often played by host nation Qatar in its crises.

Three Israeli soldiers were detained on Monday, the military said, after allegedly hurling an improvised bomb at Palestinians near the West Bank city of Bethlehem as revenge for the seizing of the body of a teenager last week.

A communications line created between the militaries of the United States and Russia at the start of Moscow's war against Ukraine has been used only once so far, a U.S.

Cryptocurrency lender BlockFi has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, it said on Monday, the latest industry casualty after the firm was hurt by exposure to the spectacular collapse of the FTX exchange earlier this month.

Pakistan and the International Monetary Fund have begun talks online on a ninth review of a $7 billion loan programme, the Finance Ministry said on Monday, after a media outlet reported that the lender had asked the country to cut its expenses.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday will announce new assistance to help restore Ukraine's power transmission ability in the face of Russian attacks targeting the country's energy grid, a senior State Department official said.

Russia's financial shift eastwards could boost cross-border commerce, present a growing economic counterweight to the dollar and limit Western efforts to pressure Moscow by economic means.

A U.S. push for Iran to be removed from a U.N. women's equality and empowerment body will be voted on Dec.

Kyiv plans to erect Christmas trees, minus lights, throughout the battered city in a defiant display of holiday spirit as the capital area's millions of residents suffer through blackouts due to Russian attacks, officials said.

Since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, Moscow has said it does not target the civilian population.

The Indian economy likely returned to a more normal 6.2% annual growth rate in July-September after double-digit expansion in the previous quarter, but weaker exports and investment will curb future activity, a Reuters poll showed.

Rapid advancements in China's military capabilities pose increasing risks to American supremacy in outer space, the head of the United States military's space wing said on Monday.

A far-rightist on track to a key post in Israel's incoming government has warned his party not to try to move too quickly with its agenda, saying in a recording leaked on Sunday that some planned legislation could backfire.

At least four Syrian drug smugglers were killed and several were injured after a shootout at the weekend with Jordanian army patrols near the Syrian-Jordanian border, residents and security officials said on Sunday.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak plans to promise on Monday to maintain or increase military aid to Ukraine next year, and to confront international competitors "not with grand rhetoric but with robust pragmatism".

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Sunday that Russia would surely launch new missile attacks on his country, and warned defence forces and citizens to be prepared to withstand a new week of strain on the power grid.

Oil futures fell more than $1 early on Monday as protests in top importer China over strict COVID-19 curbs fuelled demand worries, while investors remained cautious ahead of an agreement on a Western price cap on Russian oil and an OPEC+ meeting.

Oil rose in early trade on Friday, trimming some of the week's losses which have been driven by worries about Chinese demand and expectations a high price cap planned by the Group of Seven (G7) nations on Russian oil will keep supply flowing.

Core consumer prices in Japan's capital, considered a leading indicator of nationwide trends, rose 3.6% in November from a year earlier, marking the fastest annual pace in 40 years in a sign of broadening inflationary pressure.

Fiat parent Stellantis has concluded it can't currently make affordable electric vehicles (EVs) in Europe and is looking at lower-cost manufacturing in markets such as India, its chief executive told reporters.

India's inflation is likely to ease in the coming months, partly due to fall in commodity prices, India's finance ministry said in a monthly economic report.

The European Union is pressing ahead with a ninth sanctions package on Russia in response to Moscow's attack on Ukraine, European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said during a visit to Finland on Thursday.

Turkish drones are targeting key oil installations run by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in northeast Syria, three local sources said, in air strikes which drew strong condemnation from the United States overnight.

International Holding Company plans to sell 20% of its technology unit in an initial public offering next year, its CEO told Reuters, adding that the UAE's IHC is aiming for a first quarter IPO of Pure Health to raise more than $1 billion.

There are signs that China and India are pulling back from buying Russian crude oil ahead of the Group of Seven nations' proposed price cap and a European Union ban on imports.

The sources said the talks were being mediated by the Gulf Arab state and did not include the United Nations.