Situation Reports

Taiwan's Defense Ministry spokesperson Sun Li-fang said China's naval deployments in the Taiwan Strait, near Japan's southern islands and in the South China Sea were the largest since 1996, with Sun adding that the current naval deployment is larger than any of China's previous four live-fire drills in the last three years, the Taipei Times reported on Dec. 10.

Lee Yang-soo, the head of a task force launched by South Korea's ruling People Power Party on Dec. 9 to plan President Yoon Suk Yeol's early departure, said the task force had proposed that Yoon resign in February or March, the South China Morning Post reported on Dec. 10.

South Sudanese President Salva Kiir Mayardit sacked the country's chief of defense forces, inspector general of police and central bank governor, Radio Tamazuj reported on Dec. 9.

Syria's former rebel leader Mohammed al-Bashir was appointed provisional prime minister until March 1, 2025, marking the first formal appointment of the post-al Assad government after the regime fell to rebel forces on Dec. 8, The Times of Israel reported on Dec. 10.

Google Quantum AI built a quantum computer chip called Willow that reduced errors exponentially as it increased the number of qubits, a unit of computing information, Google's researchers said in a paper published in Nature on Dec. 9.

Syria's new rebel leaders reportedly agreed to temporarily guarantee the safety of Russian military facilities and diplomatic institutions in Syria, Reuters reported on Dec. 8.

Burkina Faso's newly appointed prime minister announced a 24-member government two days after junta leader Ibrahim Traore dismissed the government of then-Prime Minister Apollinaire Joachim Kyelem de Tambela, Radio France Internationale reported on Dec. 8.

Bangladesh's Foreign Secretary Mohammad Jashim Uddin and India's Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri met in Dhaka, Bangladesh, to discuss strained bilateral relations, AP reported on Dec. 9.

Ghanaian Vice President and presidential candidate for the ruling New Patriotic Party Mahamadu Bawumia conceded defeat to John Mahama, the presidential candidate for the opposition National Democratic Congress, or NDC, in the country's Dec. 7 general election, Reuters reported on Dec. 8.

Israeli ground forces crossed the Israel-Syria demilitarized zone, taking control of Mount Hermon and other locations to stabilize the border area, The New York Times reported on Dec. 8, citing two Israeli officials.