* Cambodian Defense Ministry's Undersecretary of State and spokesperson Lt. Gen. Maly Socheata said on Friday that Thai F-16 fighter jets dropped as many as 40 bombs in a border village in Banteay Meanchey province.
* Thailand's military announced on Thursday that border negotiations with Cambodia have entered the second day, with overall clashes along the frontier showing a downward trend.
* U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday urged the full implementation of the Peace Accords amid ongoing violence between Cambodia and Thailand.
* Thailand's Democrat Party announced on Friday that three candidates, led by party leader and former Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, will run for the country's next prime minister in the upcoming general election. Thailand is set to hold elections for the new House of Representatives on Feb. 8, 2026. Political parties are required to submit their prime ministerial candidates between Dec. 28 and 31 this year, with a maximum of three candidates per party.
* Kim Jong Un, the top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), visited major munitions industry enterprises and emphasized the need to enhance overall production capacity to meet the future requirements in the operation of the missile and artillery forces, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported Friday.
* Moscow is analyzing a peace proposal on Ukraine submitted by a Russian special envoy following his recent meeting with U.S. officials, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday.
* Europe continues to bet on the prolonged conflict in Ukraine and the escalation of tensions, showing no consideration for peace, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said at a regular press briefing on Thursday.
* The Russian Defense Ministry said on Thursday that units of its Southern Group of Forces had taken control of the settlement of Sviato-Pokrovske in the Donetsk region.
* U.S. President Donald Trump said Thursday that the U.S. military launched a "powerful and deadly" strike against the Islamic State (IS) in northwestern Nigeria.
* Niger has begun implementing retaliatory measures against the United States this week, imposing a comprehensive ban on issuing visas to U.S. citizens, the Niger News Agency (ANP) reported on Thursday.
* A top militant commander wanted by law enforcement agencies was killed in a joint police operation in Pakistan's northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, police said on Thursday.
* The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it killed two Palestinian militants in the southern Gaza Strip on Thursday night. According to an IDF statement, the two crossed the "yellow line" to approach the Israeli troops, posing an immediate threat to them.
* Saudi warplanes on Friday carried out airstrikes against military sites affiliated with the Southern Transitional Council (STC) in Yemen's southeastern oil-rich province of Hadramout, a local security official told Xinhua.
* Libyan security authorities on Thursday evening imposed a security cordon around the capital, Tripoli, as part of heightened security measures for the funeral of senior Libyan military officials, including army chief of staff Mohammed al-Haddad, local media reported.
* Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said on Thursday the risk of a renewed war with Israel has receded due to ongoing diplomatic efforts and a de-escalation mechanism, despite continued Israeli attacks in parts of the country.
* Turkish police on Thursday detained 115 suspected members of the Islamic State (IS) group in a large-scale counterterrorism operation over alleged plans to carry out attacks in the country, authorities said.
* China's 2024 gross domestic product (GDP) was revised to 134.8066 trillion yuan (about 19.16 trillion USD), down 101.8 billion yuan from the preliminary figure, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on Friday. The final verified GDP growth rate for 2024 remained at 5 percent, unchanged from the preliminary calculation, according to the NBS.
* Japan's Cabinet on Friday approved a draft budget worth about 122.3 trillion yen (about 785 billion USD) for the next fiscal year starting April, local media reported.
* The Philippines' overall balance of payments (BOP) is projected to shift from a modest surplus in 2024 to deficits in 2025 and 2026, as external headwinds persist, the central bank said Friday.
* Kyrgyzstan's economy has been expanding at an unprecedented rate over the past four years, with key indicators showing that it has entered a trajectory of sustainable and high-quality growth, Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov said on Thursday.
* Singapore's manufacturing output rose 14.3 percent year-on-year in November, government data showed on Friday, driven by a sharp expansion in biomedical manufacturing. On a seasonally adjusted basis, overall output fell 10.2 percent from October.
* The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) on Thursday lowered its key interest rates by 100 basis points, or 1 percent, the CBE reported.
* Syria's Central Bank Governor Abdulkader Husrieh announced Thursday that the country will begin exchanging its newly issued national currency on Jan. 1, 2026, in a move aimed at stabilizing the economy and restoring confidence after years of conflict and currency depreciation.
