KIEV, Nov. 20 (Xinhua) -- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met with visiting U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin in Kiev on Monday on military aid for Ukraine, the presidential press service reported.

At the talks, Zelensky briefed Austin about the current situation at the frontline of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and informed him of Ukraine's strategic goals and priority needs.

GAZA, Nov. 21 (Xinhua) -- A Hamas official said on Tuesday that the movement is close to reaching a cease-fire agreement with Israel in the coming hours, which will be announced in Qatar.

The official, who wished to remain anonymous, said the movement had already sent its response to mediators on the cease-fire agreement, and it was waiting for Israel's response.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea on Tuesday made an apparent third attempt to place a military spy satellite into orbit, South Korea’s military said. The launch marks the latest demonstration of North Korea’s determination to build a space-based surveillance system during protracted tensions with the United States.

20 November 2023; MEMO: The Israeli army has detained 880 Palestinian children since the start of this year, a local non-governmental organisation said Monday, Anadolu Agency reports.

"More than 200 children are still in custody, including 26 held under Israel’s policy of administrative detention without charge or trial" the Palestinian Prisoners Society said in a statement marking World Children’s Day.

NEW DELHI (AP) — The 41 construction workers who have been trapped in a collapsed tunnel in northern India for over a week are finally getting hot meals Tuesday, provided through a newly installed steel pipe, as rescuers work on an alternate plan of digging toward them vertically.

The meals, made of rice and lentils, were sent through a 6-inch-(15.24 cm) pipe pushed through the rubble late Monday, said Deepa Gaur, a government spokesperson.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) — Ten minutes before Vivek Ramaswamy was to take the stage in a dated casino hotel in western Iowa, no one was in the conference room except for two staffers from the Iowa GOP, which organized the event, and a group of journalists.

Guests started trickling in at the time the event was scheduled. By the time Ramaswamy began his remarks an hour later, there were about 60 people.

LUSAKA, Nov. 21 (Xinhua) -- The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) and the European Union (EU) on Monday signed two financing agreements with a total value of 48.2 million euros (53 million U.S. dollars).

The new grants to COMESA will focus on improving the overall trade competitiveness of COMESA member states and enhancing their market access.

COMESA Secretary-General Chileshe Kapwepwe commended the EU for the financial support, saying the two agreements will play an important role in enhancing overall competitiveness.

TEHRAN, Nov. 20 (Xinhua) -- Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has called for greater coordination among "independent and free" states to put pressure on Israel to end its "crimes" against Gaza.

In a letter sent to the leaders of 50 countries, including those from China, Russia, Türkiye, Kazakhstan, South Africa, Kenya and Jordan, Raisi called on them to put Israel under "coordinated political and economic pressures" to that end, according to a statement published on the website of his office on Monday.

LONDON (AP) — Microsoft snapped up Sam Altman and another architect of OpenAI for a new venture after their sudden departures shocked the artificial intelligence world, leaving the newly installed CEO of the ChatGPT maker to paper over tensions by vowing to investigate Altman’s firing.

The developments Monday come after a weekend of drama and speculation about how the power dynamics would shake out at OpenAI, whose chatbot kicked off the generative AI era by producing human-like text, images, video and music.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal appeals court is hearing arguments Monday on whether to reinstate a gag order against Donald Trump in the federal case charging him with plotting to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.

Prosecutors with special counsel Jack Smith’s team will urge a three-judge panel of the Washington-based appeals court to put back in place an order barring the former president from making inflammatory statements about lawyers in the case and potential witnesses.

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin made an unannounced visit to Kyiv on Monday in a high-profile push to keep money and weapons flowing to Ukraine even as U.S. and international resources are stretched by the new global risks raised by the Israel-Hamas conflict.

Austin, who traveled to Kyiv by train from Poland, is scheduled to meet with senior Ukrainian officials and publicly press Ukraine’s urgent military needs as it enters another tough winter of fighting.

Nov 19 (Reuters) - Former U.S. President Donald Trump congratulated libertarian Javier Milei, an outsider with radical views to fix the economy, on being elected president in Argentina on Sunday.

"The whole world was watching! I am very proud of you. You will turn your Country around and truly Make Argentina Great Again!" Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform