(VOV) - Vietnam proactively contributed to the 21st UN Conference on Climate Change in Paris. Vietnam is undertaking a number of measures to minimize impact of climate change.

US Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in Moscow December 15 to try and narrow differences with Russian leader Vladimir Putin over the role of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in any political transition and which rebel groups should be part of peace talks.

Norwegian Minster of Foreign Affairs Horten Hoglund stressed that his country and ASEAN will further promote partnership in the coming time to bring maximum benefits to both.

Chancellor Angela Merkel on December 13 brushed off what a Germany magazine said was a request from the United States to provide more military help in the fight against Islamic State.

Japan and India have stated they will cooperate under the framework of the East Asia Summit to promote a balanced and open regional structure to ensure maritime security in the region.

Russia on December 13 warned Turkey to stop staging what it called provocations against its forces in or near Syria after one of its warships fired warning shots at a Turkish vessel in the Aegean to avoid a collision.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on December 13 he was ready to lead his Fidesz party in 2018 national elections, aiming to become prime minister for a third consecutive term.

Global powers on December 13 backed the formation of a national unity government in Libya, pledging economic and security support to help stabilize the chaotic North African country where Islamic State militants have a foothold.

The United States and its allies conducted 15 air strikes in Iraq and seven in Syria against Islamic State on December 12, the coalition leading the operations said.

(VOV) - After 2 weeks of tense negotiations, a historic climate agreement was finally adopted on December 12 by 195 countries at COP21, the UN conference on climate change, in Paris. The agreement is considered a breakthrough in slowing down global warming.

Nearly 90 people were killed during December 11's clashes in the Burundian capital, the army said on December 12, the worst outbreak of violence in Burundi since a failed coup in May.

The United States has asked Germany for more military help in the fight against Islamic State, a German magazine reported on December 12, a week after parliament approved a plan to join the campaign in Syria.

ASEAN Secretary General Le Luong Minh and Indian Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj explored areas of cooperation during their meeting in New Delhi on December 11.

The embassies of Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand to Mexico have co-hosted a workshop on the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) at San Luis University in the northern central state, San Luis Potosi.

The eighth Asian Parliamentary Assembly issued the Phnom Penh Declaration at the end of its four-day working session on December 11.

(VOV) - COP21, the UN Convention on Climate Change, which began on November 30 in Paris, has entered a critical period. After some positive early signals, 195 countries now have to merge their individual interests to reach a global agreement.

(VOV) -On December 12, the UN Secretary General extended a message to the ongoing Boston Global Forum underlining the need to develop a global culture of cybersecurity and share the benefits of information and communication technologies (ICTs) and the Internet.

President Tayyip Erdogan declared on December 11 he would not bow to Iraqi demands he withdraw Turkish troops from a camp close to the Islamic State-held city of Mosul, and Baghdad said it would ask the UN Security Council to order them to leave.

Taliban fighters mounted a car bomb attack on a guest house near the Spanish embassy in Kabul on December 11, killing at least one security officer and further dimming any hopes of peace talks with moderate elements of the Islamist insurgent movement.

It is high time to build specific programmes to raise public awareness of opportunities and challenges from the formation of the ASEAN Community, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh said at a workshop in Hanoi on December 11.

Donald Trump held onto his commanding lead in the Republican race for the White House after his call for a ban on Muslims entering the United States was condemned worldwide, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll, the first national survey conducted entirely after the billionaire's remarks.

The draft of the new constitution of Thailand is scheduled to be announced on January 29, 2016, according to the country’s Constitution Drafting Committee (CDC) Chairman Meechai Ruchapan on December 10. 

The Government of Myanmar has set up a committee to facilitate the transfer of power from the current government to the National League for Democracy Party (NLD).

The Joint Coordination Committee on Cambodia-Laos-Vietnam (CLV) Development Triangle Area held its 10th Meeting in the Lao province of Champasak on December 11.

The Swiss city of Geneva raised its alert level on December 10 and said it was looking for suspects who, according to national officials, had possible links to terrorism.

The U.S.-led coalition fighting Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria has killed the group's finance minister and two other senior leaders in air strikes in recent weeks, a U.S. military spokesman said on December 10.

(VOV) -Boston Global Forum has named German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung as the recipients of the World Leader for Peace, Security and Development Award. 

Cuban Ambassador to Vietnam Herminio Lopez Diaz held a reception for Vietnamese officials and the diplomatic corps in Hanoi on December 9 to mark the 55th anniversary of Vietnam-Cuba diplomatic ties.

(VOV) - An agreement on Passenger Name Record (PNR) was submitted to the EU Parliament’s Civil Liberties Committee on December 9 prior to being voted on the EU Parliament’s 1st meeting next year. 

Millions of Indonesians on December 9 cast ballots in the country’s first-ever simultaneous elections for regional leaders in 264 regions, half of the local administrations.