* Iceland's centre-left Social Democrats took an early lead on Sunday following a snap election, although a snowstorm delayed vote counting by several hours in northern and eastern parts of the country, state broadcaster RUV reported.
* Russian President Vladimir Putin approved the federal budget for 2025 and the planned period of 2026-2027, according to a document released on the legal-acts portal on Sunday.
* Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky voiced his readiness to end the "hot phase" of the conflict with Russia in exchange for Ukraine's membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the Interfax-Ukraine news agency reported on Friday.
* European Council President Antonio Costa and Kaja Kallas, the EU's foreign policy chief, arrived in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on Sunday, using the first day in their new roles to send a message of support for Ukraine in its war with Russia.
* Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Saturday held separate phone talks with leaders from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Iraq on recent developments in Syria, counterterrorism cooperation, and various regional issues.
* Israel's National Security Council (NSC) warned on Saturday about heightened threats against Israeli citizens in Southeast Asia, especially in Thailand.
* Deadly sectarian clashes have continued in Pakistan's north-western Kurram district in spite of a tentative ceasefire struck late last week, local officials said, with the death toll now over 130 as authorities try to broker a solution.
* Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov on Saturday exchanged views on the latest developments in Syria.
* Israeli military strikes killed at least 15 Palestinians in Gaza on Sunday, medics said, as Israeli forces kept up bombardments across the enclave and blew up houses on its northern edge.
* The Israeli military said on Sunday that a projectile launched from Yemen was intercepted before it crossed into Israeli territory. The military earlier said sirens had sounded in a number of areas in central Israel following a launch from Yemen.
* South Korea's export grew for the 14th straight month due to strong demand for locally-made semiconductors, government data showed Sunday.
* Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) PIAHa.PSX said on Sunday it expects to resume European routes soon and is eyeing several UK destinations after the EU aviation regulator lifted its bar on the flag carrier.
* The lower reaches of the Yellow River, the second-longest river in China, entered one of its ice-jam flooding seasons on Sunday, with local people bracing for potential floods, according to the Yellow River Shandong Bureau.
* Cyclone Fengal began its landfall on Saturday evening affecting India's southern states of Puducherry and Tamil Nadu, bringing along heavy rains and adversely affecting flights to and from Chennai city.
* Flooding affecting several states in Malaysia worsened on Saturday with 146,522 people being forced to leave their homes as of 9:00 pm local time.
