* South Korean police started dispersing supporters for the impeached President Yoon Suk-yeol by force near the presidential residence in central Seoul Thursday afternoon as part of efforts to proceed with the arrest warrant against him, Yonhap news agency reported.
* The Indian government on Wednesday extended the subsidy on Di-Ammonium Phosphate (DAP) fertilizer beyond the Nutrient Based Subsidy (NBS) till further orders, in a bid to ensure sustainable availability of DAP at affordable prices to farmers.
* India and Pakistan on Wednesday exchanged the list of civilian prisoners and fishermen in each other's jails, officials said. The exchange was carried out through diplomatic channels simultaneously in New Delhi and Islamabad, India's Foreign Ministry said.
* Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye announced on Tuesday "the end of all foreign military presence" in the West African country by 2025 in a New Year's speech.
* French armed forces will withdraw from Cote d'Ivoire "as early as January 2025," Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara announced in his New Year's message on Tuesday, stressing that the withdrawal will be "concerted and organized."
* Egypt's new tax on mobile phones coming from abroad aims to curb the widespread smuggling of mobile phones into the country, Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said on Wednesday.
* The first power generation unit of the Zhangzhou nuclear power project in east China's Fujian Province began commercial operations on Wednesday, according to China National Nuclear Corporation.
* The year 2024 has been recorded as the year with the highest number of Sri Lankans migrating abroad for employment in the nation's history, local media reported, quoting statistics from the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE).
* The Italian city of Milan on Wednesday began enforcing strict limits on smoking tobacco products to improve health outcomes and municipal air quality.
* Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz issued a stern warning on Wednesday, stating that Israel would intensify its military operations in Gaza if Hamas does not agree to a deal for the release of hostages "soon."
* Palestinian authorities suspended broadcast operations of Qatar-based Al Jazeera Media Network in Palestine, citing its failure to meet regulations, the Palestinian official news agency WAFA reported Wednesday.
* Oman's Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr bin Hamad bin Hamood Albusaidi emphasized on Wednesday the importance of mutual cooperation and efforts for development and stability in Syria and the region.
* Singapore's economy grew by 4.3 percent year-on-year in the fourth quarter of 2024, marking a slowdown from the 5.4 percent growth recorded in the third quarter, according to advance estimates released by the Ministry of Trade and Industry on Thursday.
* Pakistan's exports increased by over 10 percent during the first six months of the current fiscal year starting from July 2024 to June 2025, compared with the same period of the last fiscal year, the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) said on Wednesday.
* A total of 1,147,567 foreign tourists arrived in Nepal in 2024, the third highest since 2018, showed official figures released on Wednesday. The figure marked a 13-percent rise over 2023, according to a report from the Nepal Tourism Board.
* Israel's population has reached 10.027 million by the end of 2024, an increase of 1.1 percent from the 9.915 million reported at the end of 2023, according to an annual report issued by the country's Central Bureau of Statistics on Tuesday.
* Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said Wednesday that the country received a record high of 15.7 million tourists in 2024, according to a statement issued by the Egyptian cabinet.
* The length of China's operating high-speed rail tracks is expected to reach around 60,000 km by 2030, up from 48,000 km at the end of 2024, data from the country's railway operator showed on Thursday.
* Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Wednesday that the New Gwadar International Airport in the country's southwest Balochistan province will unlock immense economic opportunities for Pakistan, an official statement said.
* A shipment of emergency relief supplies departed Wednesday evening from the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen to Port Vila, the capital of Vanuatu, to support earthquake relief efforts in the Pacific island country.
* The death toll rose to 15 after a man drove a pickup truck into New Year revelers in New Orleans of the southern U.S. state of Louisiana early Wednesday morning, authorities updated at a press conference.
* Five people were killed and 33 others injured after a tour bus lost control and crashed into trees in southern Thailand on late Wednesday.
* Australia experienced its second-hottest year on record in 2024, the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) has reported. According to data released by the BoM on Thursday, the national mean temperature in 2024 was 1.46 above the 1961-1990 baseline average.
