WORLD

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.

Netanyahu, whose bloc of nationalist and religious parties won a clear election victory last month, is expected to swear his new government in on Thursday after his Likud party finalises two remaining deals.

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.

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.

Women-led protests have become increasingly rare in Afghanistan since the Taliban's return -- particularly after the detention of core activists at the start of the year.

Addressing a crowd in Tehran, Raisi accused "hypocrites, monarchists and all anti-revolutionary currents".

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.

The incident occurred in Kafr Qassem, an Arab-Israeli city on the edge of Tel Aviv and just outside the occupied West Bank.

NATO member Turkey, which has friendly relations with both of its Black Sea neighbours, has positioned itself as a neutral player and tried to broker a truce.

The order threatened to suspend the operating licences of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) that failed to implement the directive.

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.

Kyiv and its Western allies have accused Russia of using Iranian-made drones to carry out attacks against Ukraine.

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.

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

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.

The thin attendance of Republicans for the Ukraine leader's congressional address, and Biden's reticence to provide him powerful offensive weapons, citing allies' concerns, showed there remained limits to the support.

Eva Kaili, a 44-year-old former newsreader who was booted from her post as parliamentary vice president after police raids earlier this month, has become the face of the case.

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.

The energy-rich state spent at least $200 billion on infrastructure projects ahead of the World Cup which rights groups claim were built by exploiting low-paid foreign labourers, who faced dangerous working conditions.

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.