Global Focus AI Express: Overview of major international events from last night to this morning | January 5, 2025

In today's fast-paced global landscape, breaking news shapes the political, economic, and social dynamics of countries around the world every day. To keep you informed about key events, we've rounded up the biggest international news stories from last night and this morning.

1。Austrian PM says he will resign next week after coalition talks fail

Austrian coalition talks have collapsed again, after parties failed to agree on key issues, PM Karl Nehammer said, adding that he will resign from his cabinet by next week. President Van der Bellen has been informed about the move to dissolve the government, Nehammer's spokesperson said. After the collapse of the previous coalition government last September, new elections were announced. But no party managed to gain an overall majority and the People's Party and Socialists both refused to work together with the far-right Freedom party, which finished in first place. Austria's political future remains uncertain.

2。Who's in charge when the head of South Korea's presidential guard takes center stage?

With an order for South Korea's President Yoon Suk Yeol's arrest pending at a special prosecutor's office, the presidential guard chief has come to the fore, having repelled on New Year's Eve scores of public officials sent to arrest Yoon. On Sunday, a special prosecutor's office vowed for a repeat arrest operation but ended up in a debacle amid harsh condemnation from opposition parties and calls to impeach the head of the presidential guard after he was filmed in clear breach of the law.

3.Annual UN progress report shows world's poorest countries falling further behind

In this year's annual progress report, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that the world's poorest countries were being left even further behind than previously thought. The annual review is a chance to showcase the UN's work from the last 12 months. But this year, it has taken a decidedly political turn, with the secretary-general hitting out at rich countries, who he says have failed to pull their weight to deliver the sustainable development goals. "Despite our best efforts, the world is failing to support people and planet," Guterres said in the report, pointing the finger of blame mainly at wealthy countries who, he alleges, are breaking their promises. And the result, he says, is the biggest economic divergence between rich and poor countries for a century.

4.French President Macron to visit Kyrgyzstan: what should we know?

The first visit by a French President since 1995 was announced last week. Emmanuel Macron has confirmed that he will stop in the landlocked Central Asian country on his upcoming tour of Afghanistan and Pakistan. But there is not much information available about the official reasons for his short visit to Kyrgyzstan.

5.World's longest bridge, 60 miles of motorway, a high-speed railway, new hospitals and schools: China unveils mega development project to turn Taiwan 'back to its bosom'

China has unveiled detailed plans to build 15 projects in Taiwan after it is reunited with the mainland, saying a high-speed railway, a huge new airport and dozens of universities, hospitals and schools are part of its strategy to "bring Taiwan back" to its "bosom". The China Communications Construction (CCCC) – described as "China's bridge-building company" – was commissioned by the government in January last year to develop a "feasibility study and planning scheme" for the infrastructure, which is described as "alliance and prosperity projects" on Chinese state media.

6.NATO chief Stoltenberg calls for a major expansion of NATO Special Operations Forces

As tensions between Russia and the West over Ukraine show no immediate prospect of cooling, the chief of the Western alliance says he plans to push for a major expansion of NATO Special Operations Forces. NATO Special Operations Forces are elite troops, often involved in intelligence-gathering missions, surveillance, and special missions such as hostage rescues. NATO's head, who visited Georgia last month, plans to press NATO members at a meeting later this year for a significant increase in NATO Special Operations Forces, in order for NATO to be able to deter Russia.

7.NASA's Ingenuity Mars helicopter spotted 7300 miles away by Hubble Telescope

Scientists and space enthusiasts have marveled at the latest feat achieved by NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter – being spotted by the Hubble Space Telescope from approximately 7,300 miles (11,200 km) away. While the distance might seem insignificant compared to the vast cosmos, capturing Ingenuity against the Martian terrain was no easy task due to its size and the telescope's sensitivity.

8.Who were Yassine Houass and Nizar Zakia?

Belgian-Tunisians Yassine Houass and Nizar Zakia were found guilty of murdering 49-year-old Mouloud Aouatef in Brussels' Forest district last year, with Houass having previously been convicted of another murder in 2020. Police first discovered evidence of a suspicious death on Forest's rue du Châtaigne on June 16, 2022.

A search operation began and a body bag was brought to the site, but officers left, not realizing that there was another person in serious condition, according to RTBF. A passerby discovered Zakia on the ground with serious wounds, who then called emergency services.