While You Were Sleeping: 5 stories you might have missed, Dec 12, 2025
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Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said in September he planned to dissolve Parliament by the end of January.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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Thailand’s PM sets stage for elections
Thailand’s Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul announced on Dec 11 that he is “returning power to the people”, moving to dissolve Parliament and clear the way for elections earlier than previously anticipated.
Government spokesman Siripong Angkasakulkiat told Reuters the move followed a disagreement with the largest grouping in Parliament, the opposition People’s Party.
“This happened because we can’t go forward in Parliament,” he told Reuters.
The political turmoil coincides with a fourth day of a fierce border conflict between Thailand and Cambodia in which at least 20 people have been killed and nearly 200 wounded.
Japan PM ranked world’s 3rd most powerful woman
PHOTO: REUTERS
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi was ranked the third most powerful woman in the world by Forbes magazine on Dec 10 as the US publication announced its list of the top 100 influential women for 2025.
Japan’s first female premier ranked behind Ms Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, and European Central Bank chief Christine Lagarde. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni was placed fourth.
In announcing its 22nd annual ranking, Forbes said women on the list “represent a new chapter in global leadership, one defined by boundary-pushing innovation, geopolitical impact, culture-shifting influence and record-breaking financial performance”.
US offers ‘free economic zone’ if Ukraine cedes Donbas
Ukraine has presented the US with a revised 20-point framework to end its war with Russia, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Dec 11, adding that the issue of ceding territory remains a major sticking point in negotiations.
Speaking to reporters in Kyiv, Mr Zelensky said the US is offering as a compromise to create a “free economic zone” in the Ukraine-controlled parts of the eastern Donbas which Russia has demanded that Ukraine cede.
“They see it as Ukrainian troops withdrawing from the Donetsk region, and the compromise is supposedly that Russian troops will not enter this part of Donetsk region. They do not know who will govern this territory,” he said, adding that Russia is referring to it as a “demilitarised zone”.
Florence cathedral managers fall prey to email fraud
PHOTO: REUTERS
Italian police said on Dec 11 they had broken up an international criminal organisation that had swindled some €30 million (S$45 million) from victims, including the cultural body that manages Florence’s artistic monuments.
Prosecutors in the northern city of Brescia issued warrants for the arrest of 10 people including Italian, Nigerian, Albanian and Chinese nationals accused of money laundering and issuing false invoices.
They launched the investigation after the Opera di Santa Maria del Fiore, a non-profit organisation that manages Florence’s cathedral and other city landmarks, reported that it had been the victim of an email scam.
Stolen boat hits Rialto Bridge in Venice
A woman stole a delivery boat in Venice on Dec 11, crashing it into the Rialto Bridge and damaging a nearby marble balustrade, a source at the mayor’s office told AFP.
Videos posted on social media showed a boat carrying parcels hitting the foot of the famous bridge on the Grand Canal.
“A woman stole the boat, drove it for a few metres without knowing how to do so, and crashed into a balustrade” next to the famous bridge, said the source.
