World

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has just concluded his first official tour of the Gulf region, with stops in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) — Berlin’s leading partners in the region.

The Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) will convene its 9th congress in late February in the capital, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported Sunday. The decision was adopted unanimously on Saturday at a meeting of the Political Bureau of the WPK Central Committee, said the KCNA report.

At first glance, the newly concluded trade agreement between India and the US appears to be a “win-win” deal, giving fresh impetus to bilateral trade ties. Yet beneath the surface lie unresolved questions, particularly over the extent to which New Delhi will cut its imports of Russian oil.

The Election Commission of Thailand said on Saturday that polling stations all over the Southeast Asian country are fully prepared for the Sunday general election, with security tightened across 400 constituencies.

The Commander of the US Africa Command (AFRICOM), General Michael Anderson, has warned of the growing threat posed by two terrorist groups — the self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS) and al-Qaeda — particularly in the Sahel and West Africa.

Thailand's major political parties held final campaign rallies on Friday in last efforts to attract voters ahead of the general election. The Thai capital Bangkok was packed with large crowds of orange, blue and red on Friday as major parties eyeing a weekend election victory made their final pitch to supporters and undecided voters.

Thai media reports, citing the Thai army, said a grenade was fired from the Cambodian side and landed near a Thai operational base in the border area on Thursday, a claim which was denied by Cambodian authorities.

The New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) — the last remaining bilateral nuclear arms control agreement in force between Russia and the US — officially expired on February 5, 2026.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday signed a massive funding package, ending a partial government shutdown that began Saturday. The bill narrowly passed the House of Representatives earlier Tuesday, after gaining Senate approval on Friday.

The Middle East “powder keg” is once again heating up following a series of threats and moves to ramp up military pressure by both the US and Iran.

The euro area (Eurozone) economy has shown signs of a strong recovery, with growth exceeding forecasts. At 1.5% in 2025, this marked the Eurozone’s second consecutive year of growth, despite a highly volatile year marked by challenges from trade disputes and global geopolitical tensions.

France adopted its 2026 state budget after the government led by Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu survived two no-confidence votes over the issue in the National Assembly on Monday.

The foreign ministers of the United Arab Emirates, Türkiye, Egypt, Jordan, Indonesia, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Qatar on Sunday strongly condemned Israel's repeated violations of the ceasefire in Gaza.

Russia does not accept the deployment of EU or NATO military forces on Ukrainian territory as part of security guarantees, Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko said on Sunday.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Ukraine is prepared to observe an energy ceasefire with Russia that began overnight on Friday, the Ukrinform news agency reported.

Political parties in Japan have officially entered the campaign period for the House of Representatives election scheduled to take place on February 8. This will be the first election since the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) ended its 26-year alliance with Komeito and formed a new ruling coalition with the Japan Innovation Party (JIP).

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday called for dialogue over the Iran nuclear issue to avoid a catastrophic crisis.

Vietnamese Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Hoai Trung joined his counterparts from other ASEAN member countries and the ASEAN Secretary-General at the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Retreat (AMM Retreat) that opened in Cebu, the Philippines, on January 29 under the chair of Philippine Secretary of Foreign Affairs Maria Theresa Lazaro.

China will enhance strategic coordination with Russia and support each other on issues involving their respective core interests and major concerns, said Jiang Bin, spokesperson for the Ministry of National Defense, on Thursday.

Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Tuesday stressed the importance of improving the conduct of officials, building integrity and combating corruption in government work, which will provide a strong guarantee to achieve the goals and tasks of the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030).