Latest news for 8 December 2025

THAILAND

Airstrikes.

Thai airstrikes have hit targets along the disputed Cambodia border, claiming retaliation against an earlier attack the Cambodians are still denying. (CNN)

Comment: Coming months after they paused their five-day war, weeks after they signed a US-brokered peace deal, and days after the US president won the first FIFA Peace Prize, it’s a reminder that this conflict’s underlying drivers remain unresolved.

YEMEN

A new player.

UAE-backed forces have captured all eight governorates that once formed the nation of South Yemen, fuelling speculation Yemen might again now split back into two nations: today’s Houthi-held north and this UAE-backed south. (Guardian)

Comment: The losers here are the Saudis next door, whose troops had been backing a southern administration against the Houthis but are now heading home with their tail between their legs, clearly outmanoeuvred by their regional rivals, the Emiratis.

BENIN

Another coup?

Benin’s president Patrice Talon has condemned the weekend’s foiled coup attempt, vowing to pursue the small group of mutineering soldiers calling themselves the Military Committee for Refoundation. Ports are still operating in Benin, the world’s ~8th largest cashew producer and ~12th largest cotton producer. (Al Jazeera)

Comment: One way to look at this is West Africa’s junta-driven instability spreading even further — something we’ve explored lately, whether the jihadis surrounding Mali’s capital, or the off-book uranium shipments disappearing into the desert. But another angle is the role of regional power Nigeria, which admits it sent jets and ground troops (at Benin’s request) to help dislodge the putschists. From Nigeria’s perspective, it’s less about any love for Benin’s leaders, and more a realisation that every new junta just seems to destabilise Nigeria’s region even further.

JAPAN

Locked in.

Japan’s Sanae Takaichi has vowed to respond “calmly and resolutely” after China’s J-15 fighter jets locked onto Japanese warplanes twice on Saturday. Japan-China ties took a dive last month after Takaichi noted China’s invasion of Taiwan “could constitute a ‘survival-threatening situation’ for Japan”. (BBC)

HONG KONG

Semi-election day.

Folks have headed to the polls for their latest legislative elections under Beijing’s tightened “patriots only” rules, though continued shock at the city’s deadliest fire in decades seems to have overshadowed proceedings. (The Straits Times)

FRANCE

Not now.

In non-theft related Louvre news, a water leak has damaged hundreds of century-old documents, piling more pressure on the world's most visited museum. (New York Times)

Comment: We explored the geopolitics of the Louvre and other heists here.

HONDURAS

Still no president.

Eight days on, electoral authorities still haven’t called the winner of the Honduran presidential election, amid a razor-thin margin between the conservative and centrist frontrunners (both of whom could re-recognise Taiwan). (Reuters $)

QATAR

Couples therapy.

Top US, Israeli, and Qatari officials met in New York on Sunday in a bid to repair ties still strained by Israel’s September strike on Hamas targets in Doha. (Bloomberg $)