Three Kurdish rebels were killed in clashes with police in Turkey's southeastern city of Diyarbakir December 24, security sources said, and shots and shellfire could be heard around an area that has been focus of an army offensive against rebels.

Cambodia’s Ministry of Interior has recognised the Cambodian Youth Party (CYP) as the seventh political party set up in the country since the 2013 National Assembly Elections.

One person was killed when an explosion hit an Istanbul airport overnight and damaged five planes, a Turkish minister said, adding that it was still too early to confirm whether the blast had been caused by a bomb.

(VOV) - The UN has approved a resolution outlining a ceasefire and peace process in Syria. It was tough to reach a comprehensive agreement to end the 5-year conflict that has killed 250,000 people and forced millions of Syrians to flee their home.

Iraq's army chief was quoted on December 23 as saying he needed only days to drive Islamic State from Ramadi, the city whose fall in May exposed the weakness of the Baghdad government and dampened hopes of restoring control in the north and west.

The UN Security Council on December 23 endorsed a UN-brokered agreement among Libya's warring factions to form a national unity government, a deal Western powers hope will bring stability and help to combat a growing Islamic State presence.

Thailand’s new Permanent Representative to the ASEAN Busadee Santipitaks presented credentials to Secretary General of ASEAN Le Luong Minh on December 23.

Russia affirmed to foster cooperation with ASEAN as part of the strategies to promote its position in Asia- Pacific region as well as facilitate the country’s socio-economic development, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

Myanmar will only be able to join the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) in 2018 since the country is yet to stand ready for a full integration, said the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (UMFCCI). 

The European Union and the Philippines agreed to start negotiations for a free trade agreement (FTA) on December 22.

The Indonesian Government has tightened security nationwide to ensure safety during the Christmas and New Year holidays.

(VOV) - The EU Summit in Brussels last week discussed the UK’s proposed list of reforms, which included a proposal that the EU curb benefits for EU migrants to the UK for four years, which will be a precondition for negotiations on the UK remaining in the EU. EU leaders said the proposal is unacceptable.

Turkish tanks on December 22 pounded Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) targets in Cizre, a southeastern town at the heart of a military operation that the army said has killed 127 Kurdish militants in a week.

A female officer in the Air Force, who was one of the first openly gay service members to get married, was identified on December 22 as being among six US troops killed by a suicide bomber near Bagram air base in Afghanistan.

The Myanmar government has invited Wa ethnic armed group, one of the seven remaining ceasefire non-signatories, to join the union-level peace conference slated for January 12, 2016, an official said on December 22.

The Indonesian police said it has been put on full alert after uncovering suicide-bombing conspiracies in Jakarta and arresting many suspects reportedly relating to the so-called Islamic State. 

(VOV) - Conflicts between the Turkish army and Kurdish armed forces are escalating. The conflicts are undermining efforts to restore peace and could spark a civil war in Turkey.

Islamic State militants in eastern Afghanistan have taken to the airwaves to win recruits as they try to build strength and replace the Taliban as the leading force in the Islamist insurgency.

A ceremony to mark the 80th founding anniversary of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) was held at Clark Air Base in Pampanga province, the Philippines, on December 21.

Six American troops were killed in Afghanistan on December 21 when a suicide bomber on a motorbike struck their patrol near Bagram air base, officials said, the deadliest attack on US forces this year.

The European Union on December 21 extended its economic sanctions against Russia over the conflict in Ukraine until the end of next July, drawing a swift rebuke from the Russian economy minister.

Switzerland and the European Union (EU) are looking into an escape clause in bilateral economic accords that could let Berne curb admissions of EU workers in cases of severe economic and social disruption.

It is not a coincidence that on November 5, 2015, when reporting about President Barack Obama’s decision to visit Laos in 2016 to attend the ASEAN Summit held in Vientiane, all Western media stressed that Obama would “make history” as the first US president to visit that country in six decades since the two countries established diplomatic relations in 1955. 

Australia and Indonesia agreed to boost intelligence-sharing in the fight against terrorism, Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said on December 21 following the annual bilateral talks with her counterpart Retno Marsudi in Sydney. 

Armed clashes persisted on December 20 across Turkey's southeast, where an operation by Turkish forces intensified on the sixth day of a campaign that security sources said had resulted in the death of 110 Kurdish militants.

Yemen's warring parties have agreed on a broad framework for ending their war at talks in Switzerland but they first have to agree a permanent ceasefire, after a week-long truce was widely violated, the United Nations said on December 20.

Air strikes believed to have been carried out by Russian warplanes killed scores of people in the center of the rebel-held city of Idlib in northwest Syria on December 20, rescue workers and residents said.

Lao President Choummaly Sayasone has recently signed a decree announcing the issuance of a new Constitution after its draft amendment was approved at the 10th session of the seventh National Assembly.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan met with Khaled Meshaal, leader of Palestinian militant group Hamas, on December 19 in Istanbul, Turkish presidential sources said, a day after Israel and Turkey said they were close to patching up five-year political rift.

The Philippine Government has announced a 12-day truce with the New People’s Army (NPA) to ensure peaceful Christmas and New Year holidays for the local people, a government official said on December 18.