ASEAN and the world

(CPV) - Through a multitranche financing facility to the Republic of Fiji for the Urban Water Supply and Wastewater Management Investment Program, ADB will help deliver vital urban infrastructure and services to support development in the greater Suva area in and around Fiji’s capital city.

(CPV) - ADB has approved a second additional financing amounting USD5 million for a renewable energy project to upgrade the existing power distribution grid in the Tonga’s outer islands of Vava’u and ‘Eua.

(CPV) - ADB has signed a USD400 million loan to help expand the Tangguh liquefied natural gas (LNG) production facility, one of the largest in Indonesia.

(CPV) - A coalition of more than 60 donor and borrower Governments on December 15th agreed to ratchet up the fight against extreme poverty with a record USD75 billion commitment for the International Development Association (IDA), the World Bank’s fund for the poorest countries.

The European Union (EU) and Cuba have signed an agreement on normalizing relations.

The Parliament of Uzbekistan has approved Deputy Prime Minister Abdulla Aripov as the Prime Minister of the country.

President-elect Donald Trump has chosen a number of new faces for his administration.

(CPV) - ADB has approved EUR458 million (USD499.6 million) for a financing platform to support green and pollution-reduction projects in the greater Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (BTH) region, which faces the worst air pollution in the People’s Republic of China (PRC). This follows a first loan of USD300 million approved last year for regulatory reform in Hebei Province.

The 15th Malaysian King, Sultan Muhammad V, has been sworn in on December 13th.

On December 13th, President-elect Donald Trump officially elected Rex W. Tillerson, the chief executive of Exxon Mobil, to be the Secretary of State.

The UN Secretary-General-designate, António Guterres has taken the oath of office as the ninth Secretary-General of the UN.

(CPV) - ADB has approved a USD50 million loan to pilot delivery of elderly care services through public-private partnerships (PPPs) in Yichang City, Hubei Province, in the People’s Republic of China (PRC).

US Secretary of State John Kerry has been awarded the French Legion of Honour.

President-elect Donald Trump has nominated ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson as the US Secretary of State.

New Zealand Finance Minister Bill English has been selected as the country's new leader.

Italy’s new Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni on December 12th took the oath of office.

All 47 people on board of the Pakistan International Airlines flight that crashed near Abbottabad were killed.

President-elect Donald Trump has picked Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad for the post of US ambassador to China.

On December 7th, an earthquake registering 6.5 on the Richter scale struck Indonesia's Aceh province at 5:03 a.m. local time, at a depth of 17.2 km, killing at least 52 people.

President-elect Donald Trump has picked retired Marine Gen. John Kelly to head the Department of Homeland Security in his new administration.

The Japanese Foreign Ministry has announced that Mr. Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, President of the Russian Federation, will pay an official working visit to Japan from December 15th to 16th, 2016.

France’s Premier Manuel Vall has announced that he is stepping down from his post to run for president next year.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has won re-election as chairwoman of her Christian Democrats (CDU) with 89.5 percent of votes cast.

President-elect Donald Trump held a phone conversation with Czech President Milos Zeman and invited him to visit the United States.

A workshop on the East Sea issue held in Geneva, Switzerland on December 6th issued a statement welcoming the ruling of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in the Hague on the Philippines’s lawsuit against China’s claims in the waters.

(CPV) - ADB approved a USD500 million loan to help Azerbaijan maintain social spending, create jobs, and diversify its economy to mitigate the adverse impact of a crash in oil prices.

The Japanese government has provided a grant of more than LAK3.7 billion (USD450,381) to build secondary school facilities and support gender education in the northern province of Bokeo, according to Vientiane Times.

(CPV) – A powerful new film featuring UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador David Beckham was released today to illustrate the brutal reality that physical and psychological abuse can mark children forever.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and President Barack Obama have announced that they would visit Pearl Harbor.

Alexander Van der Bellen, former head of the Greens, has won Austria's presidential election over right-wing populist Norbert Hofer.