* Under the mediation and promotion of the Chinese side, representatives of Myanmar's military and three ethnic armed groups in northern Myanmar held peace talks in Kunming, southwest China's Yunnan Province from Wednesday to Thursday and reached a formal ceasefire agreement, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said Friday.
* French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday nominated a list of ministers in the new government based on the proposition of the newly-appointed Prime Minister Gabriel Attal.
* Russia could resort to the use of nuclear weapons if its launchers are attacked by Western missiles, Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev said Thursday.
* China and Canada want to maintain contacts to bolster what Beijing called the "current difficult situation" in bilateral relations, the two governments said after talks between their foreign ministers.
* U.S. President Joe Biden confirmed Thursday that the United States and its allies have conducted targeted strikes against a number of Houthi targets in Yemen.
* The Kremlin on Friday condemned overnight U.S. and British military strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen and said they were "illegitimate" under international law.
* British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak confirmed on Friday that Britain, alongside the United States, has carried out airstrikes against Houthi military facilities in Yemen.
* Italy declined to take part in U.S. and British strikes overnight against the Houthi group in Yemen, a government source said on Friday, explaining that Rome preferred to pursue a "calming" policy in the Red Sea.
* Denmark, home to shipping company MaerskMAERSKb.CO, fully supports the U.S. and British strikes against Yemen's Houthis, Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said in a statement on Friday.
* Jordan said on Friday Israeli "war crimes" against Palestinians were to blame for heightened regional tension and violence in the Red Sea which it said threatened to ignite a wider war in the Middle East.
* Russia will continue to provide humanitarian supplies of grain and fertilizers to Africa, Deputy Prime Minister Viktoria Abramchenko was quoted by local media as saying on Friday.
* Yemen's Houthi group on Friday vowed to continue attacks against Israel-bound commercial ships in the Red Sea, following the U.S.-Britain airstrikes on its military sites.
* UN humanitarians said on Thursday they are staying in Mali, where most peacekeepers left, and expect to seek 700 million USD for a new Humanitarian Response Plan.
* U.S. law enforcement officials will travel to Ecuador to assist in criminal investigations after drug gangs caused a wave of violence, the State Department said in a statement on Thursday.
* More than 38 countries have offered to help Ecuador tackle a wave of violence unleashed by "terrorist" gangs linked to drug trafficking, Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa announced Thursday.
* The Syrian government has extended its approval for humanitarian aid to be delivered to rebel-held parts of the country's northwest through a border crossing with Turkey for another six months.
* Japan logged a record current account surplus of 1.93 trillion yen (13.3 billion USD) in November, government data showed on Friday.
* Philippine President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos on Thursday night expressed optimism that his country can reach a gross domestic product (GDP) growth target of 6 percent to 7 percent for 2023.
* Thailand's consumer confidence index (CCI) continued to increase in December 2023, reaching a 46-month high due to government measures to reduce living costs and a tourism revival, a survey showed on Thursday.
* Pakistan, with its talented and skilled human resource base, digital infrastructure, entrepreneurial spirit, and vision for digital transformation, is all set to become a knowledge-based economy, Pakistani caretaker Prime Minister Anwar-ul-Haq Kakar said Thursday.
* Brazil, Latin America's largest economy, saw 4.62 percent inflation in 2023, the lowest rate since 2020, the state-run Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) said Thursday.
* Mexico has enough oil reserves to meet demand for the next 18 years thanks to the oil exploration work spearheaded by his administration, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said Thursday.
* Dollar revenues from Egypt's Suez Canal are down 40% from the beginning of the year compared to 2023, canal authority head Osama Rabie said on Thursday, after attacks on ships by Yemen's Houthis caused major shippers to divert away from the route.
* Peru's central bank on Thursday cut its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to 6.50%, in line with expectations as inflation eases in the Andean nation.
* The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared Cape Verde free of malaria, hailing it as a significant milestone in the fight against the disease.
