Brunei

The world has celebrated the coming of a New Year on the last day of 2015, amid terror threats leading to a number of central squares being blocked to celebrations. 

Australia's biggest city, Sydney, was the first to host a major event to ring in the New Year, with pyrotechnics exploding over the harbor.

We have seen yet another Christmas. And some senseless reactions have, again, come from our Muslim world.

Brunei
Brunei has banned public celebrations of Christmas, violating Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Somalia
There will be no Christmas or New Year celebrations in Somalia for fear that activities could evoke Islamist attacks, according to the Muslim-majority country’s government.

China said on Nov. 22 that the United States was making political provocations with its patrols in the disputed South China Sea, as tensions around the strategic waterways mount.

Beijing said on Nov. 18 US President Barack Obama should not get involved in disputes in the South China Sea, after he demanded an end to artificial island building in the hotly contested region.

The patrol by a U.S. warship close to islands China controls in the South China Sea harmed mutual trust between China and the United States and caused regional tensions, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his U.S. counterpart in a call. 

China's navy chief warned his US counterpart encounters between their forces could spiral into conflict, state media reported, two days after a US destroyer sailed close to Beijing's artificial South China Sea islands.
 

Some countries appear to view freedom of the seas as "up for grabs" in the South China Sea, imposing superfluous warnings and restrictions that threaten stability, a U.S. Navy commander said on Oct. 6 in comments apparently aimed at China. 

Twelve Pacific rim countries sealed the deal early Oct. 5 on creating the world's largest free trade area, delivering President Barack Obama a major policy triumph.

The United States and 11 other Pacific Rim countries have agreed to an ambitious trade pact that cuts trade barriers, sets labor and environmental standards and protects multinational corporations' intellectual property.

The agreement on the Trans Pacific Partnership was reached on Oct. 5 after marathon negotiating sessions in Atlanta through the weekend.