* President Joe Biden supports a stopgap funding bill aimed at keeping the U.S. federal government open, the White House said in a statement on Friday.
* A car plowed through a Christmas market in the central German city of Magdeburg on Friday evening, killing at least two people - an adult and a small child - and injuring over 60, Saxony-Anhalt's state premier announced. The driver of the vehicle has been arrested, according to dpa, which added that the suspect was not previously known to law enforcement as an Islamist.
* Russia launched a group strike with long-range precision weapons on Friday morning in retaliation for Ukrainian attacks on its chemical plant with Western-made missiles.
* U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with South Korea's foreign minister on Friday, emphasizing the importance both nations place on democratic institutions and the rule of law, the State Department said in a statement.
* Ukraine will halt the transit of Russian gas through its territory starting Jan. 1, 2025, the Interfax-Ukraine news agency reported on Friday, citing Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal.
* The European Union (EU) is open to discussing trade issues, including energy, with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, a European Commission spokesperson said on Friday.
* Bulgarian President Rumen Radev and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban met in Sofia on Friday, emphasizing the need for restoring peace in Europe and strengthening bilateral cooperation.
* The U.S. State Department has approved the potential sale of more than $5 billion worth of arms for Egypt, the Pentagon announced on Friday.
* The Slovak government approved an agreement with the Medical Trade Union Association (LOZ) on Friday to resolve a dispute over doctors' salary increases, local media reported.
* NASA and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) are targeting March 2025 to launch a powerful Earth-observing satellite, NASA said on Friday.
* Hungary's parliament approved the 2025 budget on Friday, projecting 3.4 percent economic growth, 3.2 percent inflation, and a 3.7 percent budget deficit relative to the gross domestic product (GDP).
* U.S. diplomats visiting Damascus on Friday met with Syria's de-facto new ruler, Ahmed al-Sharaa, and held a "good" meeting with him about the future of Syria's political transition that led to the U.S. removing a bounty on his head, U.S. State Department top Middle East diplomat Barbara Leaf told reporters.
* Israeli troops on Friday opened fire on demonstrators in the village of Ma'riya, west of Daraa province in southern Syria, wounding at least one protester, according to local al-Watan Online news outlet.
* Lebanon is facing "staggering unmet health needs" as thousands of civilians cry out for reconstructive surgeries and physical rehabilitation after the Hezbollah-Israel ceasefire, the World Health Organization Lebanon Office said Friday.
* The Israeli military said it failed to intercept a missile from Yemen early on Saturday that fell in the Tel Aviv-Jaffa area, and the ambulance service said 14 people received mild injuries.
* Brazil's Central Bank must intervene to stabilize the exchange rate against the USD amid recent disruptions in its financial market, said Finance Minister Fernando Haddad on Friday.
* Foreign direct investment (FDI) in Indonesia's new capital city Nusantara (IKN) has been recorded at a total of 1.5 trillion rupiahs (about 92.4 million USD), an official said on Friday.
* Uzbekistan plans to attract 43 billion USD in investment in 2025, according to the press service of the Uzbek president.
* The Sri Lankan economy grew by 5.5 percent in the third quarter of 2024, according to the latest statistics released by the country's central bank on Friday.
* The number of people in need of humanitarian assistance in Kenya stood at 1.8 million in December, Kenya's National Drought Management Authority (NDMA) said on Friday.
* Residents of several towns west of Melbourne in Australia's state of Victoria have been told to leave immediately as a nearby major bushfire continues to burn out-of-control.
