LOS ANGELES (AP) — An elevated Los Angeles freeway closed for more than a week because of an arson fire reopened ahead of Monday morning’s commute, at least a day earlier than previously announced and weeks ahead of the original estimate.

“Welcome back, Los Angeles!” Mayor Karen Bass posted late Sunday on X, formerly known as Twitter.

MOSCOW, Nov 20 (Reuters) - The Kremlin said on Monday it had taken note of statements about Russia from Argentina's President-elect Javier Milei who has said he wants to pull back from relations with Moscow, but still hoped the two countries could maintain strong ties.

Milei, a right-wing libertarian who on Sunday won almost 56% of the vote in the election's second round, has previously said he would retreat from ties with countries including Russia, China and Brazil, citing disagreement with their governments' policies.

BEIJING, Nov 20 (APP): China supports the diplomatic efforts by Arab and Islamic countries to de-escalate the ongoing Palestinian-Israeli conflict, said Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Monday.

Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the remarks during talks with a delegation consisting of Arab and Islamic foreign ministers in Beijing, CGTN reported.

ADDIS ABABA, Nov. 20 (Xinhua) -- African countries have made tangible progress in enhancing agricultural productivity, promoting sustainable farming practices and addressing food security and rural poverty, but more efforts are needed to mitigate food-related challenges, African Union (AU) Commissioner for Rural Economy and Agriculture Josefa Sacko said.

BUENOS AIRES, November 20. /TASS/. Minister of Economy of Argentina Sergio Massa congratulated his adversary Javier Milei with victory in the presidential elections.

"I contacted Javier Milei to congratulate him and to wish him luck, because he is the president that the majority of Argentinians elected for the next 4 years," Massa, the candidate from the Union for the Homeland party, said. He made his statement before the official announcement of the election outcome.

UNITED NATIONS, Nov 20 (NNN-XINHUA) – UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, once again called for a humanitarian ceasefire, in response to the increasing number of deaths in Gaza.

“This war is having a staggering and unacceptable number of civilian casualties, including women and children, every day,” the top UN official said in a statement. “This must stop. I reiterate my call for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire.”

BARCELONA, Nov 20 (Reuters) - Colombian singer Shakira on Monday reached a settlement with prosecution to avoid a trial over charges she failed to pay 14.5 million euros ($15.74 million) in Spanish income tax between 2012 and 2014.

As part of the deal that puts an end to the trial, prosecution changed jail time for the singer with fines, the judge said during the trial's first hearing.

MOSCOW, November 20. /TASS/: After the Maidan [coup] Ukraine has lost its state independence and turned into an "impoverished, destitute land," Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a commentary marking the tenth anniversary of the start of the Ukrainian Euromaidan protests.

MOSCOW, November 19. /TASS/: The Russian authorities were able to prevent the economic collapse that threatened the country after the introduction of unprecedented sanctions in 2022, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in an interview with the Moscow. Kremlin. Putin TV program.

"There was a threat of a collapse, we really had to mobilize all resources and internal forces in order to prevent this collapse," said the Kremlin representative, noting that the Russian economy was then hit by the burden of unprecedented sanctions.

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 20 (NNN-BERNAMA) – Heavy rain and flooding are expected in Peninsula Malaysia’s east coast states of Kelantan and Terengganu, in the coming days, with authorities yesterday, warning those at risk, to take precautions.

Those in high-risk areas have also been asked to comply with instructions from the authorities, as federal disaster relief agencies take steps to prepare for severe continuous rains, Deputy Prime Minister, Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said in a statement.

JAKARTA, Nov 20 (NNN-ANTARA) – A train hit a minibus, in Lumajang regency of Indonesia’s East Java province last night, leaving 11 people dead and three others injured, a rescuer said.

The accident occurred when a minibus passed through a railway crossing, which has no train-crossing barrier, in Ranupakis village at 19:53 local time, but suddenly a train came and hit the minibus, said Muhammad Hariyadi, head of the provincial search and rescue office.

Nov 19 (Reuters) - Germany's Bayer AG (BAYGn.DE) said on Sunday it is cancelling a phase III study program to investigate the efficacy and safety of asundexian, an oral Factor XIa (FXIa) inhibitor.

The decision to stop the study is based on the recommendation by the Independent Data Monitoring Committee (IDMC). IDMC monitoring showed an inferior efficacy of asundexian compared to the control arm of the study.