Laos officially took over the chairmanship of ASEAN’s Committee of Permanent Representative (CPR) in 2016 from Malaysia at a ceremony in Jakarta, Indonesia on January 8. 

Humanitarian aid will be delivered to the besieged Syrian town of Madaya and two blockaded villages in the northwest on January 11 according to an agreement finalised on January 8, two sources familiar with the details said.

Iran's foreign minister has complained to the United Nations about Saudi Arabia's "provocations" toward Tehran, as a diplomatic crisis between the region's two major powers entered its second week.

Migrants who commit crimes should lose their right to asylum, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Saturday, toughening her tone as police in Cologne confronted right-wing protesters venting their anger at mass assaults on women on New Year's Eve.

Philadelphia police say a man admitted to shooting an officer in an ambush-style attack 'in the name of Islam.'

A witness told the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) on January 6, that the Khmer Rouge killed Vietnamese people in Cambodia’s Prey Veng province. 

Belgian investigators believe explosives used in the attacks in Paris in November may have been made in an apartment in Brussels that was rented under a false name and where a fingerprint of a key fugitive was found.

An attempted attack by Islamic State on a military base in northern Iraq shows Turkey's decision to deploy troops there was justified, President Tayyip Erdogan said on December 8, suggesting Russia was stirring up a row over the issue.

(VOV) -On January 8, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) criticized the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) hydrogen bomb test. 

Indonesia regards the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) as an important focus due to benefits the ASEAN Community could bring about to the country, Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said. 

China’s landing of two civilian planes on an illegally-built runway in the Chu Thap (Fiery Cross) reef, in Vietnam’s Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelago on January 6, has sparked protests in the region, and the world. 

(VOV) - In 2015, the world saw a record number of people fleeing their countries because of political instability, war, and poverty. 

Relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia deteriorated even further on January 7 as Tehran severed all commercial ties with Riyadh and accused Saudi jets of attacking its embassy in Yemen's capital.

The United States called on China on January 7 to end "business as usual" with its ally the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) after Pyongyang defied world powers by announcing it had tested a hydrogen bomb.

The Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) marked the 37th anniversary of the historical victory against the Khmer Rouge genocidal regime (1975-1979) in Phnom Penh on January 7. 

(VOV) - Japan and the Republic of Korea (RoK) reached a historic agreement on compensation for wartime sex slaves last December. 

Chairman of Myanmar’s Parliament Shwe Mann said on January 6 that members of Aung San Suu Kyi’s victorious National League for Democracy will take office in parliament on February 1.

British Prime Minister David Cameron bowed to pressure to allow government ministers to campaign to leave the European Union in an upcoming referendum, heading off the prospect of multiple resignations from his top team.

Thai government will add 4.4 billion THB, or US$121.5 million, into the 2016 budget for its security forces to stamp out separatist groups in southern Muslim-majority provinces as the conflict enters its 13th years.

Iraq dispatched its foreign minister to Tehran on January 6 with an offer to mediate in an escalating feud between Saudi Arabia and Iran, reflecting Baghdad's fears that new sectarian conflict could unravel its campaign against Islamic State.

Ivory Coast's President Alassane Ouattara promised "a new departure" for French-speaking Africa's largest economy on January 6 as he started to reshuffle the government following his landslide re-election last October.

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) said it successfully tested a nuclear bomb on January 6, drawing threats of further sanctions even though the United States and weapons experts voiced doubts the device was as advanced as the isolated nation claimed.

The first flight for Cuban migrants stranded in Costa Rica will leave on January 12, the Central American country's foreign minister said on January 6.

The Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry will support the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member nations in creating and applying credit guarantee systems.

Former Thai Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai, 77, said on January 5 he would run for the next election as he believed only those who represented the Thais understood their problems.

(VOV) - Saudi Arabia’s mass execution of 47 people, including Shiite religious leader Nimr al-Nimr, on terrorism charges is facing strong international criticism and has ignited a wave of protests among Shiite Islamic people in the Middle East. 

Iran unveiled a new underground missile depot on January 5 inaugurated by the speaker of parliament, Ali Larijani, Tasnim news agency, which is close to the Revolutionary Guards, reported.

Wiping back tears as he remembered children killed in a mass shooting, President Barack Obama on January 5 ordered stricter gun rules that he can impose without Congress and urged American voters to reject pro-gun candidates.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on January 5 Saudi Arabia could not hide its "crime" of executing a Shi'ite cleric by cutting ties with Tehran, but Iranian authorities disowned an attack on the Saudi embassy in Iran.

(VOV) -The US opposes China’s pilot flight to an illegally-built airport on Chu Thap (Fiery Cross) reef in Vietnam’s Truong Sa archipelago.