* Thai Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nikorndej Balankura stated on Tuesday that Thailand appreciates China's role in facilitating the de-escalation of tensions along the Thailand-Cambodia border.
* Singapore police said they expect large crowds along Orchard Road, the city-state's main shopping district, on Christmas Eve and will tighten security measures, including deploying additional officers, conducting security checks and closing some metro entrances and roads.
* U.S. President Donald Trump announced Monday that the U.S. Navy will build two new "Trump-class" warships, which he has claimed will be "the fastest, the biggest, and by far 100 times more powerful than any battleship ever built."
* Russia will respond in kind if the United States resumes nuclear testing, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said Monday. The minister noted that the United States has so far failed to respond to Russia's initiative to continue observing the core limits of the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) after its expiration.
* Russia has taken control of the settlement of Prylipka in eastern Ukraine's Kharkiv region and Andriivka in the Dnipropetrovsk region within the last 24 hours, according to the country's defense ministry.
* The Council of the European Union (EU) on Monday renewed its sweeping economic sanctions against Russia for another six months, even as Europe moves to seek direct contact with Moscow amid U.S.-led talks with Ukraine and Russia.
* Russia's Foreign Ministry on Tuesday labeled an Associated Press (AP) report on embassy evacuation in Venezuela a "lie" on its official Telegram channel. The denial referred to a Monday AP report that quoted a European intelligence representative as saying that Russia had begun evacuating staff and their family members from its embassy in Venezuela.
* U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday reiterated his call to take over Greenland, which triggered strong objections from Greenland, Denmark and the European Union.
* Sweden on Monday voiced strong support for Denmark amid Copenhagen's disappointment over a U.S. public statement announcing that U.S. President Donald Trump has appointed a special representative for Greenland.
* U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday that it would be "smart" for Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to step down as tension escalates between the two leaders.
* Mexico will further explore its water sources to meet its delivery obligations to the United States without harming local agriculture, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said on Monday.
* The Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi on Monday announced the temporary suspension of consular and visa services. The move comes days after India temporarily shut its visa application center in Chittagong, Bangladesh, following a demonstration outside the Assistant High Commission of India in the port city.
* Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Monday urged the international community to pressure Israel to halt actions he said are undermining Palestinian institutions and the two-state solution, Palestinian news agency WAFA reported.
* Yemen's internationally recognized government and the Houthi group have agreed to a new swap involving nearly 3,000 detainees in total, including seven Saudis and 23 Sudanese nationals, officials from both sides said on Tuesday.
* Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Tuesday that Israel would never fully withdraw from the Gaza Strip or from Syria, and vowed to establish new settlements in Gaza.
* Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said on Monday Iran's missile program has been developed to defend the country's sovereignty and is "non-negotiable."
* The Syrian army on Monday ordered a halt to attacks against positions held by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in Aleppo, as clashes had left civilians dead and triggered fresh displacement in parts of the northern city, according to official statements.
* The Colombian government on Monday issued a decree declaring that the country will enter a 30-day economic and social emergency, said local media. The move aims to cope with the current severe situation that the country is facing and take necessary measures to curb the spread of the crisis, said the reports.
* Lawmakers in France's National Assembly and Senate on Tuesday adopted a "special law" proposed by the government to extend the 2025 budget into next year, before resuming work on a final 2026 budget in January.
* Slovenia plans to invest 1 billion euros (about 1.18 billion USD) in the construction of public rental housing over the next decade to address a growing housing crisis, the Ministry of Solidarity-Based Future said on Tuesday.
* Ukraine's Khmelnytsky and Rivne nuclear power plants reduced power output on Tuesday morning after extensive military activities affected energy infrastructure critical to nuclear safety and security, according to a statement by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
* New Zealand and India on Monday announced the conclusion of a bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) that will eliminate or reduce tariffs on 95 percent of New Zealand's exports while granting zero-duty market access to all of India's exports.
* Indonesia and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) have opened a new chapter in their economic partnership after Minister of Trade Budi Santoso signed the Indonesia-EAEU Free Trade Agreement (FTA) on the sidelines of the EAEU Summit in St. Petersburg, Russia, on Sunday, in the presence of leaders of member states, including Russian President Vladimir Putin.
* Cambodia exported garments, textiles, shoes, and travel goods worth 14.83 billion USD in the first 11 months of 2025, a year-on-year increase of 17 percent, said an official report on Tuesday.
* Singapore's core inflation held steady at 1.2 percent year on year in November, unchanged from October, official data showed on Tuesday. In a joint statement, the Ministry of Trade and Industry and the Monetary Authority of Singapore said higher services inflation was offset by lower retail and other goods inflation, as well as a sharper decline in electricity and gas costs.
* The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Bangladeshi government Monday signed loan agreements totalling 688 million USD to upgrade a 35-kilometer railway line in the country's southeastern region. The Manila-based lender said the project aims to establish seamless connectivity along Bangladesh's Dhaka-Chattogram-Cox's Bazar corridor, significantly boosting regional transport efficiency and economic growth.
* Malaysia's energy transition is set to gather pace into 2026, underpinned by aggressive renewable energy (RE) targets, expanding solar capacity and new carbon-related policies that are expected to lift demand for clean power and related infrastructure, according to research houses.
* Around 374,000 Sri Lankan workers are located in areas affected by floods and landslides triggered by Cyclone Ditwah, a preliminary employment assessment released by the International Labor Organization (ILO) said on Tuesday.
* The Philippines recorded 1,358,989 live births in 2024, translating to a crude birth rate (CBR) of 12 births per thousand population, according to the latest data released by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA). Over the past decade, registered live births declined by 22.1 percent from 1,744,767 in 2015 to 1,358,989 in 2024, the PSA said on Monday.
* Around 80 percent of Mongolia's land is now blanketed in snow, the National Agency for Meteorology and Environmental Monitoring reported on Monday.
