* French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou unveiled a new government on Monday, appointing two former prime ministers, Manuel Valls and Elisabeth Borne, to his cabinet, according to a press release from the Elysee.
* Aisake Eke was elected as Prime Minister of Tonga on Tuesday, Radio Nukualofa reported. He will replace Hu'akavameiliku Siaosi Sovaleni, who resigned on Dec. 9.
* The Belarusian central elections commission registered five candidates for president on Monday.
* South Korea's main opposition Democratic Party will submit a motion on Tuesday to impeach Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, who became the acting president following President Yoon Suk-yeol's impeachment, according to multiple media outlets.
* Venezuela supports Panama's sovereignty over the Panama Canal, the Venezuelan Foreign Ministry said on Monday.
* Greenland's Prime Minister Mute Egede on Monday said that the island is not for sale, in response to U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's comments concerning the island.
* The African Union (AU) and United Nations (UN) missions in South Sudan called on Monday for the parties in the transitional unity government to prioritize the implementation of pending peace tasks within the 2018 revitalized peace agreement in 2025, ahead of the 2026 elections.
* Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian met with visiting Russian Deputy Prime Minister for Transport Vitaly Savelyev on Monday to discuss the implementation of the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) project.
* Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz admitted on Monday for the first time publicly to Israel's killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Iran in July, further risking tensions between Tehran and its arch-enemy Israel in a region shaken by Israel's war in Gaza and the conflict in Lebanon.
* Russia's Gazprom said that it would send 42.4 million cubic metres of gas to Europe via Ukraine on Tuesday, up from 42.1 mcm on Monday.
* The continued violence has left Gaza civilians with nowhere safe to go, Tom Fletcher, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, said Monday in a statement issued following his visit to Syria and the occupied Palestinian territories.
* The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) warned on Monday about the impact of Sweden's decision to cut its funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).
* Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty and his Jordanian counterpart Ayman Safadi stressed on Monday the importance of supporting Syria and respecting its sovereignty, unity, and territorial integrity.
* Malaysia has led Southeast Asia in data center development with an investment of 23.3 billion USD in the sector, global property consultant Knight Frank said Monday.
* The Philippines' Department of Finance (DOF) has signed 12 financing agreements worth 5.67 billion USD for projects in infrastructure, transport, defense, digital technology, health, and agriculture in 2024, Finance Secretary Ralph Recto said Monday.
* Thailand's new business registration increased 2.37 percent in the first 11 months compared to a year earlier, with the accumulated number approaching the 90,000 target for 2024, official data showed on Monday.
* The epidemiological situation of Mpox in Africa remains "especially concerning," with high case counts observed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Burundi, and Uganda, the World Health Organization (WHO) said Monday.
* The World Bank on Tuesday announced $12 million towards emergency response and recovery in Vanuatu, a week after a 7.3 magnitude earthquake killed at least 14 people, wrecked buildings and cut power and water supplies.
* A Russian cargo ship called 'Ursa Major' sank in the Mediterranean Sea between Spain and Algeria and two of its crew are missing, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday.
* A blast ripped through an explosives factory in northwest Turkey on Tuesday, killing 12 people and injuring four, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said, adding that an investigation had been launched.
* Communities and fire crews in southeast Australia were preparing for several days of extreme bushfire danger. Several out of control fires were continuing to burn in the southeastern state of Victoria on Tuesday despite more favorable conditions for firefighters.
* Heavy snowfall has hit western and southwestern Serbia, prompting authorities to warn of potential disruptions to transportation and electricity supply on Monday.
* A volcano on Sakurajima in Kagoshima Prefecture, southwestern Japan, erupted Monday, with plumes rising to 3,400 meters above the summit crater, the country's weather agency said.
* A Swiss International Air Lines LHAG.DE flight bound for Zurich from Bucharest made an emergency landing in the Austrian city of Graz because of engine problems and smoke in the cabin and cockpit, the carrier said.
