* South Korea's finance ministry vowed on Sunday to continue to swiftly deploy market stabilising measures as needed to support the economy after President Yoon Suk Yeol was impeached over his brief imposition of martial law.
* South Korean Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, the country's acting president, talked to U.S. President Joe Biden in a phone call on Sunday, vowing to maintain and develop the alliance between the two countries, Yonhap news agency reported, citing Han's office.
* Wang Yi, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and director of the Office of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs, co-chaired the 26th China-France Strategic Dialogue with Emmanuel Bonne, diplomatic adviser to French President, in Beijing on Saturday.
* Germany's Social Democrats plan to introduce a "Made in Germany" premium in the next government to boost investment in Europe's largest economy, the party's election manifesto showed on Sunday ahead of a likely early election next year.
* UN Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen said Sunday that the UN is closely monitoring the rapidly evolving situation in the country and is looking forward to the next steps toward a political transition following the ouster of former President Bashar al-Assad on Dec. 8.
* The Arab Ministerial Liaison Committee on Syria on Saturday voiced support for a peaceful and inclusive Syrian-led political transition, according to a statement released by the Jordanian foreign ministry.
* Israel said on Sunday it would close its Dublin embassy due to the Irish government's "extreme anti-Israel policies" including recognition of a Palestinian state and support for international legal action against its war in Gaza.
* The Israeli government approved a plan on Sunday to expand settlements in the Golan Heights, a Syrian territory currently occupied by Israel, according to a statement by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office.
* Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced Saturday that Turkey reopened its embassy in the Syrian capital of Damascus.
* France will send a team of diplomats to Syria on Tuesday to assess the political and security situation, the foreign ministry said, without specifying whom they would meet.
* The EU will not lift sanctions on Syria before its new rulers ensure minorities are not persecuted and women's rights are protected within a unified government that disavows religious extremism, the EU's top diplomat said.
* The new administration in Syria should be given a chance to govern following their constructive messages, and Turkey stands ready to provide military training if such help is requested, Turkish Defence Minister Yasar Guler said.
* A total of 7,621 Syrian nationals voluntarily returned to their homeland between Dec. 9 and Dec. 13, following the downfall of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government, Turkey's Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya announced Sunday.
* Israeli troops killed at least 20 Palestinians, most of them in the northern Gaza Strip, on Sunday airstrikes and other attacks on targets that included a school sheltering displaced Gazans, medics and residents said.
* Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni met with her Lebanese counterpart, Najib Mikati, on Thursday in Rome, reaffirming Italy's continued support for Lebanon's stability and regional peace.
* A meeting between the presidents of Rwanda and Democratic Republic of Congo will not take place as planned on Sunday, both countries said, dashing hopes of a deal to curb Congo's M23 rebel conflict that has displaced more than 1.9 million people.
* Thirty-nine people were killed this week in two separate attacks in Niger's western Tillabery region, the Niger Armed Forces (FAN) announced on Saturday. The incidents claimed the lives of 18 people in Kokorou and 21 in Libiri.
* Foreign direct investment (FDI) in the Chinese mainland in actual use climbed 6 percent in November from the same period last year, the Ministry of Commerce said Saturday. From January to November, the actual use of FDI stood at 749.7 billion yuan (about 104 billion USD), down 27.9 percent year on year.
* Cambodia's economy still enjoyed rosier growth in 2024 despite a downturn in the real estate sector, a government official and experts have said.
* Cyclone Chido, which slammed into the island of Mayotte on Saturday, has killed at least 14 people and caused immense damage to the island, French media reported Sunday.
* Mount Semeru, located in Indonesia's East Java province, erupted on Sunday, prompting the country's Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation to issue an aviation warning. A thick column of white-to-grey ash rose up to 1,000 meters into the sky, drifting northeast from the crater, according to the center's report.
* The Philippines on Sunday ordered local government units to complete the evacuation of people within the six-km danger zone around Mount Kanlaon volcano by Monday amid rising activity.
