* U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan will travel to India for a "capstone meeting" with his Indian counterpart to highlight the across-the-board partnership between Washington and New Delhi, a National Security Council spokesperson said Friday.
* The United States would like to see politicians and the general public in South Korea make concerted effort to ensure "a stable path forward" for the country that is still in the midst of political chaos, a national security spokesperson said Friday.
* Four drones were shot down in Russia's Leningrad Oblast, regional Governor Alexander Drozdenko said Saturday.
* Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal on Friday outlined ten priorities of his government's agenda this year, the cabinet's press service reported. The development of the defense and security sector will remain Ukraine's key task, Shmyhal said, noting that special attention will be given to the long-range component and the missile program.
* Farmers' organizations took to the streets of central Warsaw on Friday to protest against European Union (EU) trade and agriculture policies. The protest began in the early afternoon near the Representation of the European Commission in Poland. A massive crowd assembled in the streets, carrying Polish national flags and banners.
* The Indonesian government has committed to prioritizing the development of education, allocating approximately 20 percent of the total 2024 state budget to the sector, Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani Indrawati said on Friday.
* Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev reviewed the key outcomes of 2024 and outlined the domestic agenda for 2025 in an interview with a local newspaper on Friday.
* Uzbekistan has allocated 1 billion USD in credit for boosting employment, local media reported on Saturday, citing the press service of the Uzbek president.
* Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Friday that the country's economic progress hinges on achieving complete peace in the face of the prevailing security challenges, the Prime Minister's office said in a statement.
* Italy's Postal Police said Friday they investigated 18,714 cyber-fraud cases in 2024, resulting in over 181 million euros (186 million USD) in stolen funds, both record highs.
* UN humanitarians said on Friday that Israelis have ordered more relocating in besieged North Gaza because of impending attacks in retaliation for rocket fire into Israel.
* The International Organization for Migration (IOM) expressed deep concern on Friday over the severe impact of winter rains and freezing temperatures on displaced Palestinians in Gaza.
* Egypt on Saturday dispatched a relief plane to Syria's capital Damascus, the first since the fall of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government early last month.
* Syria's interim Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani announced on Friday the plan to visit Qatar, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Jordan in the coming week, in an effort to bolster stability, security, and economic recovery.
* Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati and Ahmed Al-Sharaa, head of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and Syria's de facto leader, held a phone conversation on Friday to discuss common issues and bilateral ties, according to a statement by Mikati's office.
* Ethiopian and Somali officials have reiterated common commitments to ensuring peace and stability in Somalia and the region as the two countries solidify ties on the backdrop of recent diplomatic tensions.
* China's civil aviation sector maintained steady operations in 2024, with the number of air passenger trips made last year estimated at a record 730 million, the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) said at a press conference on Friday.
* Cambodia has reported a 48 percent increase in the number of Chinese tourists to the UNESCO-listed Angkor Archaeological Park in 2024, an official report showed on Saturday.
* Croatia recorded over 21.3 million tourist arrivals and more than 108.7 million overnight stays in 2024, marking increases of four percent and one percent respectively compared to 2023, Croatia Week reported on Saturday.
* The World Food Program (WFP) said it requires 404 million USD to support the urgent humanitarian needs of millions of crisis-affected people in South Sudan over the next six months.
* Global food prices fell by 2.1 percent in 2024 compared to the average for the previous year, mainly due to declines in cereal and sugar prices, according to the latest report released Friday by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
* The number of people registered as unemployed in Spain at the end of 2024 was down by 146,738, or 5.42 percent from the start of the year, data published by the country's Ministry of Labour and Social Economy on Friday showed.
* Turkey's goods exports in 2024 increased by 2.5 percent compared to 2023, reaching a record high of 262 billion USD, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced on Friday.
* Bolivia ended 2024 with a notable increase in Net International Reserves (NIR), which reached 1.976 billion USD, up 267 million dollars from 2023, the Central Bank of Bolivia (BCB) reported Thursday.
