London / AFP World stocks forged higher on Tuesday on uncertainty over the future path for US interest rate hikes, while London shrugged off news of surging inflation. Asian indices advanced as investors weighed the prospect of a US rate increase, and on the eve of key economic growth data in powerhouse economy China. In Europe, Frankfurt, London and ...

  Dubai / Reuters Several disappointing third-quarter results from large Saudi companies dragged on the kingdom’s stock index in morning trade on Tuesday, while other Gulf markets edged up in modest trade. Riyadh’s index was down 0.8 percent after 70 minutes. Saudi Arabian Mining Co (Ma’aden) fell 2.7 percent after it posted a 4.6 percent rise in third-quarter net profit ...

  Bloomberg Indian stocks rebounded from a three-month low, with the benchmark index rallying the most in Asia, as a spurt in global equities lifted investor sentiment. A gauge of lenders climbed the most among the nation’s 14 sector indexes, while an index of metalmakers ended three days of losses. A measure of mid-sized stocks rose to within a whisker ...

  Moscow / AFP Moscow announced on Tuesday that Russian and Syrian air forces have stopped bombing Aleppo ahead of a brief truce, a move the Kremlin said showed “goodwill” as it faces mounting criticism for backing a brutal regime offensive. Russia had said Monday there would be an eight-hour “humanitarian pause” in the battered city on Thursday, a move welcomed ...

  Mogadishu / AFP Fighting between Somali troops and Al-Qaeda-linked Shabaab fighters was ongoing on Tuesday in the key town of Afgoye, some 30 kilometres (18 miles) northwest of the capital Mogadishu, a security source and a witness said. “There is heavy fighting going on at several bases in Afgoye district and one of the bases was attacked with a ...

  New Delhi / AFP Three staff at an Indian hospital have been suspended after a deadly blaze in the intensive care unit, authorities said on Tuesday, as the toll from the disaster rose to 20.Fire broke out on Monday night in the dialysis ward of the hospital in eastern Odisha state before quickly spreading to other floors, killing 19 ...

  Berlin /AFP Russian President Vladimir Putin heads to Berlin on Wednesday for a summit focussing on escalating tensions between Moscow and the West over the Kremlin’s strategy in Ukraine and Syria. The meeting—the first in a year between the Russian, German, French and Ukrainian leaders—will “evaluate the implementation” of the Minsk peace accords for Ukraine, Berlin and Paris said ...

  United Nations / AFP The UN Security Council on Monday denounced North Korea’s latest test of a powerful missile that one leading US expert warned could be put into operational service as early as next year. North Korea test-fired the medium-range Musudan—capable of hitting US bases as far away as Guam—on Saturday. Although the exercise was a failure, with ...

  Chíos /AFP Standing with a group of children outside a refugee camp on the Greek island of Chios, little Roza can’t wait to get an early start to her day. “Good school, good school!” she beams, her backpack on and pigtails bobbing. Roza, a Syrian Kurd, is one of a small group of children in Greece’s island camps fortunate ...

  Tokyo/ AFP Dozens of Japanese lawmakers visited a controversial war shrine on Tuesday in an annual pilgrimage criticised by China and South Korea, which see it as a painful reminder of Tokyo’s aggressive past. The group of about 85 politicians arrived at the leafy Yasukuni shrine in central Tokyo during a four-day autumn festival. Led by priests, the dark-suited ...