Reuters

By Parisa Hafezi and Yomna Ehab

DUBAI (Reuters) - Hopes are fading that Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and his foreign minister have survived a helicopter crash in mountainous terrain and icy weather, an Iranian official said on Monday after search teams located the wreckage.

“We can see the wreckage and the situation does not look good,” the head of Iran’s Red Crescent, Pirhossein Kolivand, told state TV.

A... (continue reading...)

By Sudipto Ganguly and Shilpa Jamkhandikar

MUMBAI (Reuters) - India began voting in the fifth phase of its mammoth general elections on Monday, with seats in the financial capital Mumbai and the opposition's Gandhi family bastions set to be sealed in the last few legs of the seven-phase vote.

The world's largest election began on April 19 and will conclude on June 1, with votes set to be counted on June 4.

Monday's phase... (continue reading...)

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's Commerce Ministry said on Monday that it will prohibit some U.S. firms from importing and exporting activities related to China, including one selling arms to Taiwan, and forbid them from making new investments in China.

The ministry put General Atomics Aeronautical Systems on its unreliable entities list, saying it sold arms to Taiwan, according to a statement. It also included General Dynamics Land Systems.

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Shares of most major Chinese developers fell on Monday even after China announced "historic" steps to stabilise its crisis-hit property sector.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Mainland Properties Index dropped more than 2%, having gained around 18% so far this month after the Politburo said in an April 30 meeting that it would coordinate to clear housing inventory.

Embattled state-backed developer China Vanke fell more than... (continue reading...)

By Kirsty Needham

SYDNEY (Reuters) - A thousand police arrived in New Caledonia from France and street clashes had calmed, the French High Commission said on Monday, but Australia and New Zealand were unable to send in evacuation flights for tourists stranded on the Pacific island.

Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said "the situation there is deeply concerning", as damage to roads and blockades prevented access to the airport... (continue reading...)