Reuters

By Nidal al-Mughrabi

CAIRO (Reuters) - Gun battles between Israel and militants from Hamas, Islamic Jihad and smaller Palestinian factions intensified overnight into some of the fiercest in months in both northern and southern Gaza, both sides said on Wednesday.

Israeli tanks reached densely populated neighborhoods and narrow alleyways of the militant stronghold of Jabalia in the northeast, facing heavy resistance. Residents said the army... (continue reading...)

By Natalie Grover

LONDON (Reuters) - The International Energy Agency (IEA) trimmed its forecast for 2024 oil demand growth on Wednesday, further expanding the chasm between it and oil producer group OPEC regarding the outlook for global oil demand this year.

The Paris-based energy watchdog lowered its growth outlook for this year by 140,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 1.1 million bpd, largely citing weak demand in developed OECD nations.

JAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesia can easily achieve 8% economic growth, President-elect Prabowo Subianto told the Qatar Economic Forum on Wednesday, and he said the country is not protectionist.

Prabowo is set to assume leadership of Southeast Asia's largest economy of 270 million people in October, having pledged eradicate poverty and to continue his predecessor President Joko Widodo's policy of processing natural commodities onshore.

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysia will ask Meta Platforms to explain the removal of posts from Facebook related to media reports of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's publicised meeting this week with a Hamas leader, its government said on Wednesday.

Anwar met Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas in Qatar and on Tuesday and said he had good relations with the political leaders of Hamas, but no involvement in its military apparatus.

Muslim-majority... (continue reading...)

(Corrects advisory line to flag changes in paragraph 3, not 11)

NEW DELHI (Reuters) -The United Nations has launched an investigation into an unidentified strike on a U.N. car in Rafah on Monday that killed its first international staff in Gaza since Oct. 7, a spokesperson for the U.N. Secretary General said.

The staffer, a retired Indian Army officer named Waibhav Anil Kale, was working with the U.N. Department of Safety and Security and... (continue reading...)