Qatari Prime Minister Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa al-Thani attended the 40th annual Gulf Cooperation Council summit in Riyadh on Dec. 10 after Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani decided not to attend the meeting, Gulf News reported.
Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives have agreed to support a revised version of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement after one year of negotiations with the White House, Bloomberg reported Dec. 10.
Alberto Fernandez was sworn in as Argentina's new president on Dec. 10 and delivered his first address as the country's new leader, Bloomberg reported.
U.S. lawmakers from the Senate and the House of Representatives have agreed to raise the minimum level of U.S. troops in South Korea from 22,000 to 28,500 as part of the annual National Defense Authorization Act, NK News reported Dec. 10.
Japanese Trade Minister Hiroshi Kajiyama met Indian Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Dec. 10 to discuss a range of bilateral issues, including New Delhi's strategy to balance its trade deficit with Japan, as well as enhanced market access for Indian goods and services, Xinhua reported.
The Saudi Finance Ministry released its 2020 budget statement on Dec. 9, projecting expenditures of $272 billion and a budget deficit of $49.9 billion that amounts to 6.4 percent of its gross domestic product.
French telecommunications giant Orange has limited its interest in acquiring a minority stake in Ethio Telecom, Ethiopia's state-owned telecom monopoly, Orange's chief executive officer said Dec. 4, The Africa Report reported Dec. 9.
Ukraine, Russia, Germany and France agreed on a number of steps to continue efforts to implement a cease-fire in eastern Ukraine during their latest round of talks under the Normandy Four format in Paris, The Moscow Times reported Dec. 10.
An Algerian court sentenced former Prime Minister Ahmed Ouyahia to 15 years and former Prime Minister Abdelmalek Sellal to 12 years in prison Dec. 10, Reuters reported.
China is working to support an EU proposal to establish an alternative to the World Trade Organization's Appellate Body once it loses its ability to rule on cases by the end of the week, Bloomberg reported Dec. 10, citing China's ambassador to the WTO.
