* Russia has always supported Cuba and considers new restrictions against the country unacceptable, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday during a meeting with Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla.
* Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Wednesday that the latest trilateral talks between Ukraine, the United States and Russia in Geneva had made progress on military issues, particularly on monitoring a future ceasefire, the Ukrinform news agency reported.
* A senior official of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) expressed appreciation for the latest statement by a Republic of Korean official admitting drone incursions, and vowed to beef up security along the country's southern border, the official Korean Central News Agency reported Thursday.
* European delegations were not allowed to participate in the latest round of talks on the Ukraine crisis held in Geneva, RIA Novosti news agency reported Wednesday. The European representatives were barred from joining the discussions and remained at a hotel, the report said.
* Hungary has suspended diesel fuel deliveries to Ukraine with immediate effect and will not resume shipments until crude oil transit via the Druzhba pipeline is restored, Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto said here on Wednesday.
* The naval forces of Iran and Russia on Thursday held a joint drill in the Gulf of Oman and the northern Indian Ocean, successfully carrying out a series of operations.
* The United States is withdrawing all of its roughly 1,000 troops from Syria, The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, citing three U.S. officials.
* Israel is on heightened alert and assessing that a confrontation with Iran could begin "soon," state broadcaster Kan reported Wednesday, citing senior Israeli officials.
* Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Wednesday that Iran is "serious" about implementing its comprehensive strategic partnership with Russia, adding that Tehran's relations with Moscow have entered a "new era."
* Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi and Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi held a phone call on Wednesday to discuss the latest developments of the indirect negotiations between Iran and the United States.
* The European Union (EU) has extended its arms embargo on Zimbabwe for another year, while lifting travel bans and asset freezes, the EU Delegation to Zimbabwe said Wednesday.
* A joint United Nations (UN) humanitarian convoy has reached the major cities of Dilling and Kadugli in Sudan's South Kordofan state, delivering life-saving aid to support more than 130,000 people, several UN agencies announced Wednesday.
* Laos has recorded a trade surplus of 202 million USD in January, with total imports and exports exceeding 1.5 billion dollars.
* Cambodia has recorded a modest growth of its exports to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the European Union (EU) in January, said a Ministry of Commerce report on Thursday. The report showed that the Southeast Asian country exported products worth 480 million USD to its fellow ASEAN member states in January this year, up 8 percent compared to the same month last year.
* Cambodia exported garments, shoes, and travel goods totaling about 1.4 billion USD in January 2026, up 7.2 percent compared to the same month last year, said an official report on Thursday.
* Australia's unemployment rate remained steady at 4.1 percent in January, according to official data released on Thursday.
* Poland's economy is expected to enter a "year of faster growth" in 2026, with investment projected to rise by nearly 10 percent as the government focuses on sustaining growth through infrastructure spending, innovation, and advancements in science and technology, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Wednesday.
* Afghanistan's Ministry of Public Works has signed a contract with a private company for the construction of a key road linking two districts in eastern Wardak province, a spokesman said on Thursday.
* The World Health Organization (WHO) announced on Wednesday that Libya has eliminated trachoma as a public health problem, marking a significant public health achievement in the eastern Mediterranean region.
* At least 38 people have been killed and many others injured following a gas explosion at a lead mining site in central Nigeria's Plateau State, local officials said on Wednesday.
* Twelve people were killed in an explosion at a fireworks retail store in central China's Hubei Province on Wednesday afternoon, local authorities said. The cause of the explosion is under further investigation
* The death toll from a gas explosion at a residential building in Pakistan's southern port city of Karachi has risen to 16, rescue officials said on Thursday.
* Eight skiers have been killed and one remains missing following an avalanche on Tuesday in Nevada County, U.S. Northern California, local authorities said Wednesday.
