* Incumbent Tuvaluan Prime Minister Kausea Natano lost his parliamentary seat in the general election held in the Pacific island nation on Friday, according to media reports Saturday.
* Pakistan's Ambassador to Iran Muhammad Mudassir Tipu left Islamabad on Friday for Iran's capital to resume his diplomatic duties, according to Iran's official news agency IRNA.
* Russia will launch 18 carrier rockets this year to replenish the country's satellite constellation, local media reported on Friday, citing the country's Deputy Defense Minister Alexei Krivoruchko.
* Ukraine is not planning to extend the natural gas transit contract with Russia after 2024, the Interfax-Ukraine news agency reported Thursday, citing the government press service.
* U.S. President Joe Biden on Friday spoke with Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani about Gaza and efforts to secure the release of hostages taken by Hamas, the White House said.
* The first round of dialogue to discuss ending the U.S.-led international coalition's mission in Iraq was launched Saturday, the Iraqi government said.
* Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Friday that his country's "commitment to international law is unwavering," following the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ordered Israel to "take all measures to prevent acts of genocide in Gaza."
* The South African parliament on Friday welcomed the "landmark ruling" of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on the country's genocide case against Israel, calling on the international community to apply pressure on Israel to comply with the order.
* Tens of thousands of Yemenis who support the Houthi group protested Friday in solidarity with Palestinians, rejecting U.S.-British sanctions on Houthi senior officials and denouncing airstrikes on northern Yemen.
* The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an Iraqi Shiite militia, vowed Friday to continue its attacks on military bases housing U.S. forces until all U.S. troops leave the country, rejecting a proposed U.S.-Iraq commission to oversee a "transition" of the bilateral security partnership.
* UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Lebanon Imran Riza on Friday called for a de-escalation of tensions in southern Lebanon as the repercussions on civilians are heavy amid limited aid by international organizations.
* Algeria on Friday expressed regret and deep concern following the Malian authorities' cancellation of the Agreement for Peace and Reconciliation in Mali, an outcome of the Algiers process.
* UN humanitarians said on Friday they are deeply concerned by attacks on civilians in northeast Syria and warn that flooding in the country's northwest threatens displaced people.
* Government troops killed nine members of a pro-Islamic State group in the southern Philippines, the military said on Saturday, including two suspects in a deadly blast at a Catholic Mass last month.
* Israeli aircraft, tanks and infantry troops have killed at least 11 militants over the past 24 hours in battles in Gaza's Khan Younis, the military said on Saturday.
* Ministers and senior officials from Laos and Malaysia have discussed ways to strengthen their cooperation in the tourism sector, as well as other fields of mutual interest.
* There have been at least 18 million flu illnesses, 210,000 hospitalizations, and 13,000 deaths from flu so far this season in the United States, according to the latest data released Friday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
* Around 19.4 million people aged 60 or older in European countries have received a vaccine dose against COVID-19 since September 2023, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) said on Friday.
* The Cambodian economy is projected to grow by 6.4 percent in 2024, up from 5.5 percent in 2023, mainly driven by tourism and manufacturing sector, National Bank of Cambodia (NBC)'s Governor Chea Serey said on Friday.
* Thailand's exports continued to expand for the fifth consecutive month in December 2023, but at a slower pace due to growth in both agro-industrial and industrial product shipments, official data showed on Friday.
* National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Secretary Arsenio Balisacan on Friday expressed optimism that the Philippine government will achieve a gross domestic product growth of 6.5 percent to 7.5 percent in 2024.
* The Da Afghanistan Bank (DAB), the central bank, has decided to auction 16 million USD as part of the country's efforts to stabilize the exchange rate of the national currency on Sunday, the central bank said in a statement on Saturday.
* The number of foreign workers in Japan as of October 2023 topped 2 million for the first time ever, government data showed Friday, underlining the country's struggle with labor shortages amid an aging population.
* Lebanese parliament approved the 2024 budget on Friday after three days of heated discussions, the National News Agency reported.
* Hungary's number of births hit a historical low in 2023, according to the country's Central Statistical Office (KSH) on Friday.
* Tens of thousands of people in Australia's Queensland state remained without power on Saturday two days after a tropical cyclone brought damaging winds and heavy rains.
