Asia East Timor The country is looking forward to new training of its officials at Malaysian Institute of Diplomacy and Foreign Relations; over 600 Timorese officials have been trained through Malaysian Technical Cooperation Programme and Defence Cooperation Programme
Asia Pakistan A three-day exhibition of photographs and paintings kicked off at the Pakistan National Council of the Arts in conjunction with the 13th Pakistan Mountain Festival - the annual flagship event of Devcom-Pakistan
Asia Oman The Sultanate of Oman, represented by the Ministry of Health, received the Excellence Award for the year 2023 from the World Health Organization for its tireless and continuous efforts in combating non-communicable diseases
Asia Philippines The Bureau of Immigration intercepted three Filipino women, alleged victims of human trafficking, at Terminal 3 of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Pasay City
Asia Singapore Departure of first Singapore-born panda cub to China to participate in conservation programme has been postponed to January 2024; last public appearance at Pavilion Capital Giant Panda Forest in the River Wonders park is scheduled for today 13 December
Asia Myanmar Opium cultivation in the Golden Triangle has expanded significantly over the past year, with Myanmar experiencing the largest increase due to ongoing civil unrest
Asia North Korea A delegation of Russian Far East officials has arrived in Pyongyang, according to North Korean state media, on a visit that is expected to include bilateral talks on topics ranging from revitalising tourism to joint construction projects
Asia South Korea Of some 50.000 middle and high school students asked across the nation in 2022, 14,3% thought of suicide over the past 12 months, says a survey released by the Korea Center for Disease and Prevention Agency, now bringing the rate to 1 in 7 students
Asia Japan PM Kishida would be set to remove all Cabinet members of the largest faction of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, previously led by former MP Shinzo Abe: they allegedly received tens of millions unreported funds from fundraising parties
Asia Iran On the day the Nobel Prize was awarded, on the stage at Oslo City Hall, an empty chair represented Nobel laureate Narges Mohammadi, in the presence of her twin children Kiana and Ali, who, in exile in France since 2015, read their mother's speech
Asia Lebanon PM Mikati announced the closure of all public administration offices, public institutions and municipalities for yesterday, in response to global support for Gaza and in solidarity with the Palestinian people and residents of Lebanese border villages
Asia Turkey The Ministry of National Education has officially banned practices such as 'room parenting' or similar unofficial roles in schools that are not authorised by legislation
Asia Cyprus National flag carrier Cyprus Airways announced the launch of direct flights between Larnaca and Brussels International Airport, in what it describes as a significant move to boost air connectivity between Cyprus and mainland Europe