* KP Sharma Oli has been elected as the chairman of the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist and Leninist) (CPN-UML) through the 11th general convention that concluded on Thursday. Oli defeated Ishwar Pokharel, the party's former senior vice-chairman, announced Bijay Subba, chair of the party's election commission.
* Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni said Thursday that the country's forthcoming general elections would be free and fair, urging voters to turn out in large numbers. Museveni, who is seeking re-election, made the remarks while addressing a public rally in Rakai District, Uganda's Central Region, as part of his campaign ahead of the Jan. 15 polling.
* Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo issued a formal apology on Wednesday over the racist gestures posted online by Finnish politicians and celebrities toward Asian people, while the parliamentary group of the Finns Party on Thursday reprimanded two of its lawmakers for sharing the photos.
* The Trump administration on Thursday approved a possible foreign military sale to NATO worth an estimated 136.1 million USD to extend Stinger missiles' service life.
* Guarantees proposed by the European Union (EU) for using frozen Russian assets to finance Ukraine were "still insufficient," said Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever on Thursday, warning that Belgium would not bear the risks alone.
* China's assistant minister of foreign affairs Liu Bin held political consultations between the foreign ministries of China and Ukraine with Serhiy Kyslytsya, the first deputy minister of foreign affairs of Ukraine, in Beijing on Thursday.
* EU leaders agreed on Friday to provide a 90-billion-euro loan to Ukraine from 2026 to 2027 to help address its looming budget shortfalls, but failed to reach consensus on tapping frozen Russian assets to finance the package.
* Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum on Thursday reaffirmed her strategy of keeping a "cool head" and pursuing dialogue with the United States, without compromising the fundamental principles of non-intervention and respect for sovereignty.
* The Trump administration on Thursday imposed new sanctions on 29 more ships over alleged ties to Iran's shadow fleet, the U.S. State Department announced in a statement.
* The U.S. military on Thursday destroyed two more suspected drug-trafficking vessels in international waters in the eastern Pacific, killing five people aboard, the U.S. Southern Command said.
* Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said Thursday that the Oreshnik missile systems have been set up in Belarus and they are about to begin combat alert duty.
* The first shipment of Azerbaijani petroleum products was dispatched to Armenia on Thursday, marking a significant milestone in regional trade normalization following recent diplomatic engagements between the two neighboring countries.
* U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday signed a sweeping executive order aimed at bolstering U.S. leadership in space, calling for Americans' return to the Moon by 2028.
* Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Friday announced that a national firearm buyback scheme will be established to reduce the number of guns in the community following the Bondi Beach shooting.
* More than 1,000 civilians were killed over three days of attacks by Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces on the Zamzam displacement camp in North Darfur in April, according to a United Nations report released Thursday.
* South Africa on Thursday defended an immigration operation that led to the deportation of seven Kenyan nationals, rejecting U.S. accusations of misconduct toward American officials.
* A UN spokesperson said on Thursday that Yemen's Houthi group had detained another 10 UN staff members in Sanaa, raising the total number of UN personnel held by the group to 69.
* Egypt's State Information Service (SIS) said Thursday that the recently announced natural gas deal with Israel is strictly commercial and carries no political implications, dismissing media reports that suggested otherwise.
* Iraq's Interior Ministry said on Thursday that its anti-drug forces seized 64 kg of narcotics and nabbed a suspect in the Iranian city of Abadan, close to Iraqi borders, in coordination with Iranian authorities.
* The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Thursday said it has approved a 10-million-U.S.-dollar financing to fund a forestry project in Laos, marking the ADB's first investment in the country's forestry sector in a decade.
* The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Thursday said it has launched a 40-million-U.S.-dollar emergency assistance facility to support Sri Lanka's recovery from the devastation caused by Cyclone Ditwah.
* The Bank of Japan (BOJ) on Friday raised its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to 0.75 percent, its highest level in three decades, after a two-day monetary policy meeting.
* Finland's economic recovery is losing momentum as weak domestic demand drags on growth and public finances remain under pressure, the Ministry of Finance said Thursday.
* The cultural and creative industry contributed 6.8 percent to Malaysia's gross domestic product (GDP), fueling 130.7 billion ringgit (31.97 billion USD) in 2024, according to official data.
* Sri Lanka expects foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows to be between 1.5 billion and 2 billion USD in 2026, a senior official told journalists on Friday. Chairman of the Board of Investment Arjuna Herath said FDI has exceeded one billion dollars in 2025.
* Hospitals across England are on "high alert" as hospital flu admissions have reached their highest level for this time of year, the National Health Service (NHS) said on Thursday.
