World News in Brief: February 1

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.

Staff members work at a polling station during an early voting for Thailand's House of Representatives election at the National Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, on Feb. 1, 2026. Early voting for Thailand's House of Representatives election started at 8 a.m. local time on Sunday, with more than 2 million eligible voters unable to cast their ballots on the official polling day of Feb. 8 participating in the process. (Photo: Xinhua)
Staff members work at a polling station during an early voting for Thailand's House of Representatives election at the National Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, on Feb. 1, 2026. Early voting for Thailand's House of Representatives election started at 8 a.m. local time on Sunday, with more than 2 million eligible voters unable to cast their ballots on the official polling day of Feb. 8 participating in the process. (Photo: Xinhua)

* Kuwait's Emir Sheikh Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah issued a decree on Sunday to reshuffle the cabinet, appointing new ministers to key portfolios, the Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) reported.

* Costa Ricans head to the polls on Sunday in presidential elections, as more than 7,000 polling stations opened nationwide. About 3.7 million registered voters are eligible to cast ballots, including over 67,000 Costa Ricans registered to vote abroad.

* China's State Taxation Administration (STA) said Sunday it has released an announcement to adjust and improve export tax rebate management regulations to make declaration and handling processes more convenient and efficient.

* India's Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the country's budget for the financial year 2026-2027 on Sunday, with a total estimated expenditure of 53.5 trillion Indian Rupees (around 583.49 billion USD) and non-debt receipts of 36.5 trillion Indian Rupees.

* Cambodia has arrested a total of 2,044 foreigners in its latest crackdown on online scams, said a spokesperson for the Ministry of Interior on Sunday.

* China's top diplomat Wang Yi met with Sergei Shoigu, secretary of the Russian Federation Security Council, in Beijing on Sunday.

* U.S. presidential special envoy Steve Witkoff said on Saturday that U.S. and Russian delegations held "productive and constructive" meetings in Florida.

* U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday that Iran was "seriously talking" with the United States.

* Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty on Saturday urged the United States and Iran to resume negotiations and "reach a peaceful, consensual settlement" to the nuclear issue, according to the Egyptian Foreign Ministry.

* Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yvan Gil said Saturday that U.S. diplomat Laura Dogu, a special envoy of the U.S. government, has arrived in Venezuela as part of the working agenda between the two countries.

* Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Sunday that the next round of trilateral talks between Ukraine, the United States and Russia will be held next week in the United Arab Emirates.

* Russian forces hit Ukrainian military-related targets and captured two settlements over the past day, Russia's Defense Ministry said on Sunday.

* Negotiations are underway between Danish Defense Ministry and Air Greenland about leasing aircraft to better carry out surveillance tasks in the region, said a statement released on Saturday by the ministry.

* Multiple demonstrations were held on Saturday across Southern California against enforcement raids by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

* Iran's Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said on Sunday his country considers European Union militaries "terrorist groups."

* Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty and his Saudi counterpart Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud stressed the importance of regional de-escalation and rejected the use of force amid mounting regional tensions, Egypt's Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Sunday.

* Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani visited Iran on Saturday to discuss regional peace and stability, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said Sunday.

* The Rafah border crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt was reopened on Sunday on a limited and trial basis.

* Ali Abdel Hamid Shaath, head of the Palestinian technocratic National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG), on Sunday called for full adherence to the ongoing ceasefire in the enclave.

* Israel announced on Sunday it would bar the humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders from operating in the Gaza Strip after the group refused to hand over a list of its Palestinian staff.

* Israeli airstrikes hit southern Lebanon on Sunday, injuring at least one person and damaging homes and vehicles, and reportedly sprayed substances suspected of being toxic on farmland, Israeli and Lebanese sources said.

* Pakistani security forces and law enforcement agencies have "successfully thwarted the evil design of terrorists," killing 92 terrorists in the country's southwestern Balochistan province on Saturday, the military said in a statement.

* The death toll from a ferry that sank off Basilan province in the southern Philippines rose to 40, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said Sunday.

* The search for victims of landslides in Indonesia's West Java province entered its eighth day on Saturday, with rescuers recovering 70 bodies, local media Detik.com reported.

* Latvia was hit with the severest cold spell in 12 years this weekend, as a weather station in Latvia's southeastern city of Daugavpils recorded a temperature of -32 degrees Celsius, the Latvian Environment, Geology and Meteorology Center reported on Saturday.

Xinhua
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