Japan approves record $785bn budget, boosts defence spending
Japan's cabinet has approved a record-high $785 billion budget for the next fiscal year - including the largest allocation for defence spending ever....
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un praised the country’s troops fighting alongside Russia in Ukraine, calling them “heroic” and reaffirming Pyongyang’s support for Moscow.
Kim Jong Un met with officers of North Korea’s overseas army units and lauded their efforts in supporting Russian operations in Ukraine, particularly in the Kursk region.
KCNA reported that Kim "highly appreciated their feats of leading the combat units of our armed forces, which participated in the operations to liberate the Kursk Region of the Russian Federation, to victory".
According to South Korean intelligence, more than 10,000 North Korean troops have been deployed to Ukraine, with further deployments believed to be planned.
Kim and Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a strategic partnership treaty in June 2024, including a mutual defence pact.
Ahead of Putin’s upcoming meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump, Kim reaffirmed his full support for Moscow during a phone call.
Earlier, he paid tribute to North Korean soldiers killed in Ukraine, covering their coffins with flags and placing his hands on them—a rare public gesture.
“Ours is a heroic army ... Our army has fully demonstrated its unique qualities. Such a result has cemented its appellation and reputation as the most powerful army in the world,” Kim said, according to KCNA.
A majority of Russians expect the war in Ukraine to end in 2026, state pollster VTsIOM said on Wednesday, in a sign that the Kremlin could be testing public reaction to a possible peace settlement as diplomatic efforts to end the conflict intensify.
Military representatives from Cambodia and Thailand met in Chanthaburi province on Wednesday ahead of formal ceasefire talks at the 3rd special GBC meeting scheduled for 27th December.
In 2025, Ukraine lived two parallel realities: one of diplomacy filled with staged optimism, and another shaped by a war that showed no sign of letting up.
It’s been a year since an Azerbaijan Airlines plane crashed near Aktau, Kazakhstan, killing 38 people. Relatives and loved ones mourn the victims, as authorities near the final stage of their investigation.
The White House has instructed U.S. military forces to concentrate largely on enforcing a “quarantine” on Venezuelan oil exports for at least the next two months, a U.S. official told Reuters, signalling that Washington is prioritising economic pressure over direct military action against Caracas.
Japan's cabinet has approved a record-high $785 billion budget for the next fiscal year - including the largest allocation for defence spending ever.
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief: here are the top news stories for the 26th of December, covering the latest developments you need to know.
Missile development in North Korea is set to continue over the next five years. The country’s leader Kim Jong Un made the remarks during visits to major arms production facilities in the final quarter of 2025, the state news agency KCNA reported on Friday.
The United States carried out a strike against Islamic State militants in northwest Nigeria at the request of Nigeria's government, President Donald Trump and the U.S. military said on Thursday.
Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro on Thursday announced his support for his son Flavio Bolsonaro’s 2026 presidential candidacy while recovering from a planned hernia operation, which doctors said went smoothly.
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