Japanese Gov’t Adopts Record 122.3 Trillion Yen Draft Budget For Fiscal 2026

TOKYO, Dec 26 (NNN-NHK) – Japan’s Cabinet, today, approved a draft budget worth about 122.3 trillion yen (about 785 billion U.S. dollars), for the next fiscal year starting April, local media reported. The huge spending, the first full-scale budget under Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, marks a record high for the…

Militant Commander Killed In Police Operation In NW Pakistan

ISLAMABAD, Dec 26 (NNN-APP) – A top militant commander, wanted by law enforcement agencies, was killed in a joint police operation, in Pakistan’s north-west Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, police said, yesterday. The Counter-Terrorism Department and district police, launched the operation on intelligence reports and engaged militants at a suspected hideout, police…

Bangladesh Nationalist Party’s Acting Chairperson Returned Home After 17 Years In Exile

DHAKA, Dec 26 (NNN-BSS) – Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP)’s acting chairperson, Tarique Rahman, returned to the country yesterday, after spending 17 years in exile in Britain. Senior leaders of the BNP welcomed him at the airport in Dhaka, amid a heavy presence of law enforcement. Rahman, 60, is the elder…

Four Dead As Ferries Collided Amid Dense Fog On Bangladeshi River

DHAKA, Dec 26 (NNN-BSS) – At least four people died, and a dozen others were injured, in a head-on collision between two passenger ferries, amid dense fog on the Meghna River, in Bangladesh’s Chandpur district, about 115 km south-east of the capital Dhaka, early today. Md Nazmul Islam Sarker, deputy…

Former Thai PM Abhisit Announces Bid For Next PM

BANGKOK, Dec 26 (NNN-TNA) – Thailand’s Democrat Party, announced today that, three candidates, led by party leader and former Prime Minister, Abhisit Vejjajiva, will run for the country’s next prime minister, in the upcoming general election. The party unveiled its candidate lineup in a campaign video, released on social media,…

Hezbollah Member Killed In Israeli Airstrike In S. Lebanon

BEIRUT, Dec 26 (NNN-NNA) – A Hezbollah member was killed yesterday afternoon, in an Israeli airstrike in southern Lebanon, according to Lebanese sources and the Israeli military. An Israeli drone targeted a pickup at the entrance to the border village of Majdal Selm, yesterday afternoon. The Emergency Operations Centre of…

Palestinian Murdered By Israeli Army In N. Gaza

GAZA, Dec 26 (NNN-WAFA) – A Palestinian was murdered yesterday, by the Barbaric Israeli army in northern Gaza, Palestinian medical sources said. The sources told Xinhua that, the shooting occurred after Israeli military vehicles advanced inside the so-called “yellow line,” a demarcation marking areas where Israeli troops remain deployed, despite…

Former Afghan Police Commander Killed In Iran: Media

TEHRAN, Dec 26 (NNN-IRNA) – A former Afghan police commander was killed in an armed attack, in the Iranian capital, Tehran, the semi-official Mehr news agency reported, yesterday. Identified as Ikramuddin Saree, a police commander of northern Afghanistan’s Takhar province, in the former Afghan government, he was shot dead after…

Thailand-Cambodia Border Talks Entered Second Day As Clashes Eased

BANGKOK, Dec 26 (NNN-TNA) – Thailand’s military announced yesterday that, border negotiations with Cambodia have entered the second day, with overall clashes along the frontier showing a downward trend. According to Thai media reports, the secretariat meeting of the Thai-Cambodian General Border Committee (GBC), kicked off at around 9:00 a.m.…

Yearender: Trapped In Aftermath – Post-War Mideast States Struggling For Reset

CAIRO, Dec 26 (NNN-XINHUA) – As 2025 draws to a close, a trio of Middle Eastern countries find themselves in a familiar interlude: the loudest battles have ebbed, yet the struggle over who holds power, and on whose behalf, has not. These countries, namely Lebanon, Syria, and Iraq, face the…