* Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Wednesday urged efforts to implement the people-centered new urbanization strategy, unleash the potential of domestic demand contained in the integrated development of urban and rural areas, and boost economic and social development.
* Cambodian Permanent Deputy Prime Minister and Cabinet Minister Vongsey Vissoth said in Phnom Penh on Friday that the kingdom considers digital technology as a vehicle to leapfrog modernization, development, and increasing added value in the economy and society.
* India and Russia on Friday inked several agreements and Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in such fields as migration and mobility, health and food safety, maritime cooperation, and commerce. The bilateral agreements were signed in New Delhi in the presence of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin, who was on a two-day state visit to India, concluding Friday.
* Russia will respond if the European Union seizes frozen Russian assets, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said Thursday. Moscow's response will be a "surprise" for the EU, said Zakharova, without providing further details.
* Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum on Thursday highlighted the importance of the North American trade agreement, ahead of her meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on the sidelines of the 2026 World Cup draw in Washington on Friday.
* The Bundestag, Germany's lower house of parliament, on Friday passed a military service modernization act, aiming to reinforce its military, the Bundeswehr, by launching mandatory fitness assessments and questionnaires.
* The militaries of China and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will hold the "Falcon Shield 2025" joint air force training in the UAE from Dec. 9 to 22, Chinese military spokesperson Jiang Bin announced on Friday. This is the third time for the two militaries to conduct the series of training, Jiang added.
* The U.S. military on Thursday carried out a strike on a boat allegedly transporting narcotics in international waters in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing all four people on board, the U.S. Southern Command said.
* Belarusian Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Sekreta on Thursday urged the international community to restore full-scale communication to resolve global conflicts and achieve a new detente.
* The Finnish government on Thursday approved two key climate policy plans aimed at meeting national and European Union (EU) climate targets, but left unresolved how to reverse the decline in the country's forest carbon sinks, a central element in its 2035 carbon neutrality goal.
* The Cypriot parliament on Thursday passed a law removing the cabinet's authority to grant citizenship to foreign investors, further tightening control after the country's former "golden passports" scheme was abolished in 2020.
* The trade turnover between Belarus and Russia has increased by almost 30 percent over the past three years, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexey Overchuk said on Thursday.
* Authorities in western Afghanistan's Farah province set on fire 50 tons of expired medicines and food items, urging drug stores and shopkeepers to avoid selling expired items, the official media Bakhtar news agency reported on Friday.
* The European Commission on Friday imposed fines totaling 120 million euros (139.8 million USD) on Elon Musk's social media platform X for breaching transparency obligations in its first non-compliance decision under the Digital Services Act (DSA).
* The first International Symposium on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Nuclear Energy commenced here on Wednesday, focusing on how nuclear energy can help meet the surging electricity demand of AI data centers, and how AI can support nuclear technology development.
* Israel's defense budget for 2026 is set at 112 billion shekels (about 34.7 billion USD), according to statements issued by the finance and defense ministries on Friday.
* Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), a major state-owned aerospace and defense company, said in a statement on Thursday that it will supply the Royal Thai Air Force with an advanced air-defense system.
* Türkiye has agreed to extend its natural gas import contract with Russia for one year while simultaneously exploring potential energy investments with the United States, the local Hurriyet Daily News newspaper quoted Turkish Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar as saying on Thursday.
* The gross domestic product (GDP) of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) member countries grew by 2.2 percent year on year in the January-September period of 2025, the press service of the CIS Executive Committee said Thursday.
* The Bank of Russia will lift existing restrictions on overseas foreign currency transfers for Russian citizens and non-resident individuals from friendly countries starting Dec. 8, the central bank announced on Friday.
* Cambodia exported 801,643 tons of milled rice to international markets in the first 11 months of 2025, up 39 percent from 575,562 tons over the same period last year, said a Cambodia Rice Federation (CRF) press release on Thursday.
* The Philippines' year-on-year headline inflation eased to 1.5 percent in November from 1.7 percent in October, bringing the national average inflation in the first 11 months to 1.6 percent, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said on Friday.
* Republic of Korea logged a current account surplus for the 30th consecutive month due to a faster import fall than export and dividend income from overseas stock investment, central bank data showed Friday. The current account balance, the broadest measure of cross-border trade, recorded a surplus of 6.81 billion USD in October, staying in black since May 2023, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).
* Thailand's consumer confidence picked up for a third successive month in November, reaching the highest level in six months, supported by government measures to boost domestic consumption and tourism, a survey showed on Thursday.
* Mongolia received the highest number of foreign tourists since the beginning of this year, with a total of 810,389 visitors, according to official data released by the Mongolian Tourism Organization on Thursday.
* There is a 55 percent chance of a weak La Nina impacting global weather and climate patterns during the next three months, according to the latest updates from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) on Thursday.
* The death toll from adverse weather caused by Cyclone Ditwah has risen to 607 in Sri Lanka, the country's Disaster Management Center (DMC) said Friday. Another 214 people remain missing, while more than 2 million people from 586,464 families have been affected nationwide, said the DMC, adding that 4,164 houses have been destroyed and 67,505 others have suffered partial damages.
* Singapore has advised the public, port users and maritime industry stakeholders to remain vigilant during the northeast monsoon, which is expected to persist until March 2026 and may bring stronger winds, choppier seas and moderate to heavy rainfall.
* Around 85 percent of power connections disrupted due to the emergency disaster situation caused by Cyclone Ditwah have now been restored in Sri Lanka, the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) announced Thursday.
* Severe flooding, landslides, and infrastructure damage were reported across Greece on Thursday as a powerful storm system named Byron swept through the country, bringing heavy rain, thunderstorms, and gale-force winds.
* The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)'s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) is convening in Atlanta on Thursday and Friday to review and vote on a series of vaccine-related recommendations. According to the agenda posted on the CDC's official website, Thursday's session is themed on Hepatitis B vaccines.
