Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to visit Saudi Arabia that same month, according to Riyadh's foreign minister, but the consul statement did not specify whether the trip will coincide with the summit.

In his decades-long quest for the top job, the 75-year-old has tasted political triumph and defeat, led street protests for democratic reforms and strung together a multi-ethnic opposition coalition while behind bars.

He added that contacts with Washington happen over the phone but that they take place through diplomatic channels and not at a presidential level.

The ceremony at the palace closes the chapter on one of the most dramatic elections in Malaysia's history, after no party managed to secure a majority to form a parliament for the first time since independence in 1957.

The 75-year-old has time and again been denied the premiership despite getting within striking distance over the years: he was deputy prime minister in the 1990s and the official prime minister-in-waiting in 2018.

Residents of Zhenghzhou's city centre cannot leave the area unless they have a negative Covid test and permission from authorities, and are advised not to leave their homes "unless necessary", the local government said.

The Barisan coalition will not support a government that is led by ex-premier Muhyddin Yassin's alliance, its biggest component party said, though it did not make any reference to Anwar.

Saturday's election ended in an unprecedented hung parliament with neither of two rival alliances able to secure enough seats in parliament to form a government.

China recorded 31,454 domestic cases -- 27,517 without symptoms -- on Wednesday, the National Health Bureau said.

The 97-year-old statesman came fourth in a five-way fight for his long-held constituency on the resort island Langkawi in Saturday's election.

Few will lose as much as journalists if Twitter dies, having grown reliant on its endless sources and instant updates despite the dangers and distortions that come with it.

The king is due to pick a new prime minister after the leading contenders - opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim and former premier Muhyiddin Yassin - failed to secure enough support for a majority following a Saturday election that produced an unprecedented hung parliament.

Russia unleashed a missile barrage across Ukraine on Wednesday, killing 10 people, forcing shutdowns of nuclear power plants and cutting water and electricity supply in many places.

A Philippine police officer has been jailed for torturing two teenagers killed at the height of former president Rodrigo Duterte's drug war, court documents show, in a rare conviction of an enforcer of the crackdown. 

Schools and businesses closed, restaurants empty, and the fear of being locked down at any moment – the Chinese capital is a cauldron of dread and fatigue as Covid curbs tighten nearly three years into the pandemic.

Inflation is red-hot in the United States, reaching the highest levels in decades this year. And while some prices have eased in recent months, consumers say they are straining to handle their grocery bills – a tough blow at the holidays.

The wait for a new Malaysian prime minister entered its fourth day on Wednesday, after the leading two contenders failed to secure enough support for a majority and break a hung parliament following last weekend's election.

Climate change will end up killing people by fueling infectious diseases, the head of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria said Tuesday.

Turkey struck several targets in Syria on Tuesday after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan issued new threats to launch a ground operation "soon" against Kurdish fighters despite calls for de-escalation from Washington and Moscow.

Malaysian King Al-Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah is in the spotlight as he mulls his choice on who will be the country's next prime minister, after an election left no party with a majority in parliament and coalition talks failed.

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin met his Chinese counterpart Wei Fenghe in Cambodia on Tuesday as the two sides move to keep tensions in check.

US Vice President Kamala Harris will travel Tuesday to a Philippine island near waters claimed by China to show support for the longtime US ally and counter Beijing's growing influence in the region.

Indonesia's planned purchase of F-15 fighter jets is in advanced stages and awaiting final sign-off from the government, the Southeast Asian country's defense minister said on Monday.

Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto is set to welcome his American counterpart Lloyd J. Austin this week, as the two countries’ top defense officials are expected to push for a stronger defense partnership amid increasing tensions in the Indo-Pacific region.

Indonesia and China will resume joint exercises and training, which previously were paused due to the COVID-19 pandemic, as both countries eye strengthening military cooperation.

More than 15 million people -- out of 237 million daily Twitter users -- voted on whether to reinstate the controversial profile, with 51.8 percent in favor and 48.2 percent against.

Loss and damage covers a broad sweep of climate impacts, from bridges and homes washed away in flash flooding, to the threatened disappearance of cultures and whole island nations to the creeping rise of sea levels.