Denmark, Greece, Pakistan, Panama and Somalia began to assume responsibilities as non-permanent members of the United Nations Security Council.

Their two-year term officially started on January 1. Thursday is the first working day of the council for 2025 after the Christmas and New Year break, news agency reported.

The five countries replaced Ecuador, Japan, Malta, Mozambique and Switzerland.

A flag installation ceremony was held at the United Nations headquarters in New York to mark the start of their responsibilities.

Kazakh UN ambassador Kairat Umarov, who presided over the ceremony, congratulated the five new council members and wished them success in their two-year term.

Iranians across the country marked the fifth anniversary of the US killing of top commander Qassem Soleimani.

Soleimani, former commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Quds Force, and Iraqi militia leader Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis were killed in a US drone strike near Baghdad International Airport on January 3, 2020. Iran condemned the killing as an act of "state terrorism."

Commemorations were held in cities nationwide on Thursday , including Tehran and Soleimani's hometown of Kerman, honoring him and other "martyrs of the resistance front."

In Tehran, a large gathering took place at Imam Khomeini's Mosalla prayer hall, attended by senior officials including President Masoud Pezeshkian, Judiciary Chief Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei, and Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf. Also present were military commanders such as IRGC Chief Hossein Salami and Quds Force Commander Esmail Qaani, as well as Soleimani's family members, news agency reported.

Cambodia's Ministry of Environment has launched a 'National Roads Without Plastic Waste' campaign to ensure that national roads are free of garbage and plastic waste, said a ministry's press release on Thursday.

Environment Minister Eang Sophalleth said the campaign, which started on Wednesday, would contribute to enhancing the cleanliness and appeal of the country's roadways.

"The campaign will improve the aesthetic value of cities and towns along national roads, contributing to a more beautiful, hygienic, and environmentally friendly environment," he said.

"It will promote clean air, greater orderliness, and attract both tourists and investors to Cambodia, creating more comfortable and livable spaces for residents," he added.

Concerns have grown over a potential clash if investigators proceed with a warrant to detain South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol as the impeached president has vowed to "fight to the end."

The state anti-corruption agency is likely to execute the warrant to detain Yoon as early as Thursday after the Seoul Western District Court granted it Tuesday over Yoon's short-lived declaration of martial law on December 3.

Yoon has become the first sitting South Korean president to face arrest.

The Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) has since been making preparations to execute the warrant without major disruptions amid concerns that the presidential security service and Yoon's supporters may prevent it from doing so, reports news agency.

Australia experienced its second-hottest year on record in 2024, the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) has reported.

According to data released by the BoM on Thursday, the national mean temperature in 2024 was 1.46 above the 1961-1990 baseline average.

It makes 2024 the second-hottest year in Australia since records began in 1910 behind only 2019, when the national mean temperature was 1.51 degrees Celsius above the baseline average.

The national mean temperature is calculated by the BoM by averaging all minimum and maximum temperatures recorded across Australia.

Minimum temperatures were the highest on record in 2024, with overnight lows 1.43 degrees Celsius above the baseline average, beating the previous high of 1.27 degrees Celsius set in 1998.

Concerns over maintenance challenges by low-cost carriers (LCCs) have surfaced following the Jeju Air tragedy, according to industry watchers on Thursday, with data showing heavy overseas reliance for critical aircraft repairs, such as engine repairs.

The apparent landing gear malfunction of the crashed Jeju Air B737-800 on Sunday has raised concerns that the airline might have prioritised operations over sufficient maintenance time, potentially compromising safety.

According to data from the transport ministry, maintenance costs spent overseas by domestic airlines totaled 1.99 trillion won (US$1.35 billion) in 2023, up 58.2 percent from 1.26 trillion won in 2019, reports news agency.

For domestic LCCs, the increase is even more pronounced. Overseas maintenance costs by budget carriers amounted to 502.7 billion won last year, up 63.6 percent during the same period.

The halt in Russian gas transit through Ukraine has sparked fears of supply shortages and soaring energy costs, particularly in landlocked European nations like Slovakia.

Both Ukraine and Russia announced the stoppage on Wednesday, pushing some EU countries to resort to costlier energy alternatives, news agency reported.

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico on Wednesday said that stopping gas transit through Ukraine to Europe will have "severe consequences for all of us in the European Union (EU), but will not harm Russia."

The stoppage follows Ukraine's decision not to renew a 2019 gas transit agreement between its state-run Naftogaz and Russia's Gazprom, which expired on December 31, 2024.

"At 07:00 a.m. (0500 GMT), in the interests of national security, the transportation of Russian natural gas through the territory of Ukraine was stopped," the Ukrainian Energy Ministry said in a statement on Wednesday. Similarly, Gazprom confirmed that it has stopped gas supply due to expiration of key agreements and Ukraine's refusal to renew them.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz issued a stern warning stating that Israel would intensify its military operations in Gaza if Hamas does not agree to a deal for the release of hostages "soon."

In a public statement, Gallant said that should Hamas fail to permit the release of Israeli hostages, the group would face "blows of an intensity not seen in Gaza for a long time." He emphasised that Israel's military would "escalate and intensify" its efforts against militant strongholds in Gaza until the hostages are freed and Hamas is "eliminated."

Negotiations mediated by Qatar, Egypt, and the US are stalled over key issues, including the continuation of the ceasefire, news agency reported.

Hamas seeks to prolong the truce, while Israel insists on the right to resume military action if it perceives a security threat. Another point of contention is Hamas's demand for the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, which Israel opposes, asserting the need for a continued military presence to maintain security control.

Two women have drowned in separate accidents in the northeastern Australian state of Queensland.

Queensland Police said on Wednesday that a woman who went missing while floating down a river northwest of Brisbane on Tuesday has been found dead.

The 53-year-old woman fell into fast-moving water at about 2:30 pm local time and did not resurface, triggering a search operation involving a helicopter, drone and water rescue crews.

She was found dead on Wednesday afternoon. Queensland Police said the death is being treated as non-suspicious.

The South Korean government on Wednesday said it will send the flight data recorder from the crashed Jeju Aeroplane to the United States for analysis.

The exact timeline for the transfer of the flight recorder will be decided in consultation with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said in a briefing, reports news agency.

The flight recorder, retrieved earlier from the wreckage of the Jeju Air B737-800 aircraft at Muan International Airport, reportedly sustained some external damage, missing a connector that links its data storage unit to the power supply.

"We have determined that extracting data from the damaged flight data recorder here is not possible," said Joo Jong-wan, director of the aviation policy division at the ministry. "And so we have agreed with the NTSB to send it to the US and analyse it there."

South Korean experts will participate in the analysis process in the US, he added.