Latest news for 9 December 2025

CAMBODIA

Fighting resumes.

The recent Trump-brokered peace deal between Thailand and Cambodia now seems to have collapsed, with the two rivals now trading strikes and accusations along their disputed border. Thailand has evacuated 450,000 people from its border, with both sides reporting casualties. (France24)

AUSTRALIA

Not so fast.

Just hours before Australia’s world-first social media ban for under-16s enters force, word is emerging US platform Reddit will challenge the law in Australia’s top court, adding to a separate case lodged earlier by two 15-year-olds. (AFR $)

Comment: We explored the geopolitics of this big story yesterday.

UNITED KINGDOM

Another draft.

Ukraine’s Zelensky has emerged from last-minute London talks with his British, French, and German counterparts, flagging he’ll now share a revised peace plan with the US, while reiterating his refusal to cede land to Putin. Meanwhile, the latest US defence bill before Congress vows to boost support for Ukraine. (Al Jazeera)

CHINA

New record.

China’s trade surplus has surpassed $1T for the first time, and in just 11 months, highlighting its export resilience despite the US trade war. Meanwhile, the Communist Party’s decision-making Politburo has struck a relatively dovish tone, hinting at further easing in 2026. (France24)

Comment: We’ve often explored the ways China’s export wave is gobbling foreign industry, and the pro-trade folks at the Financial Times recently put it rather starkly like this: “It is now increasingly hard to see how Europe, in particular, can avoid large-scale protection if it is to retain any industry at all.“

INDONESIA

Rebuild.

Officials have estimated Indonesia’s Sumatra island alone will need $4B in recovery and reconstruction funds following recent devastating floods and landslides that’ve left 950 dead and another 250 still missing. (Strait Times)

Comment: We explored the geopolitics of natural disasters here.

MEXICO

You can stay.

Mexico has reportedly shrugged off US calls to boot Russian spies posing as diplomats, according to the New York Times. (NYT $)

Comment: Russia’s embassy in Mexico City is massive, and it’s not to negotiate tequila tariffs: the various SVR and GRU handlers based there fly US-based sources down for debriefing under the cover of a sweet, sweet Cancun holiday. Ditto the suspiciously big Russian embassies in places like Nicaragua.

IRAQ

That’s awkward.

Iraq has apologised after adding the Iran-backed Houthis and Hezbollah to an asset-freeze list, explaining it was only looking to target ISIS and al Qaeda. (Reuters)

Comment: The US has long worked to curb Iran’s influence in Iraq, but this news suggests there’s still a ways to go.