* German Chancellor Friedrich Merz was re-elected on Friday as chairman of the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU), securing 91.17 percent of the delegate votes at a party congress held in Stuttgart. The result marked Merz's first re-election as party leader since becoming the Federal Chancellor in June last year.
* Hundreds of U.S. troops have been evacuated from U.S. bases in Qatar and Bahrain amid rising concerns about a potential U.S. military strike on Iran, The New York Times reported Friday, citing Pentagon officials.
* China's Ministry of Finance, General Administration of Customs, and State Taxation Administration have jointly released a notice regarding the implementation of import tax incentives for the popularization of science and technology during the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030).
* U.S. President Donald Trump has signed an executive order to impose 10 percent tariffs on imported goods from all countries, according to a social media post on Friday. The move came hours after the Supreme Court ruled in a 6-3 vote that his tariff policy under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) was illegal.
* Kazakhstan and Russia are conducting a planned joint air defense exercise as part of their unified regional air defense system, the Kazinform news agency reported on Saturday.
* Hungary will block the disbursement of a planned 90-billion-euro (106-billion-U.S.-dollar) European Union (EU) military loan for Ukraine until crude oil deliveries via the Druzhba pipeline are restored, Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto said on Friday.
* Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal and visiting Chairman of the NATO Military Committee (CMC) Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone on Friday discussed preparations for the upcoming NATO Summit in Ankara and the security situation in Europe.
* Iran's Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said on Friday Tehran will prepare the draft of a possible nuclear deal with the United States within two to three days. He made the remarks in an interview with MSNBC while elaborating on indirect nuclear talks between Iran and the United States and ways to bridge differences on the nuclear issue.
* The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement on Friday that its forces, together with the Shin Bet domestic security agency and the Israel Police, arrested around 100 "wanted Palestinians" across the West Bank over the past week.
* The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement on Friday that it had detained dozens of Israeli civilians who crossed into the Gaza Strip overnight without authorization.
* The Hamas-run Gaza media office said on Thursday that 1,148 Palestinians have crossed the Rafah border crossing in both directions since its reopening earlier this month.
* Lebanese President Joseph Aoun on Saturday strongly condemned Israeli airstrikes carried out overnight by land and sea, targeting the Sidon area in southern Lebanon and the Bekaa region in eastern Lebanon.
* The International Organization for Migration (IOM), in partnership with the European Union, on Friday launched a new initiative to support communities displaced by conflict and climate shocks in South Sudan to rebuild their lives safely and with dignity.
* Policymakers and private sector players from the East African Community (EAC) bloc on Friday pledged to step up efforts to reduce persistent and emerging barriers to regional trade.
* Turkish gendarmerie detained 346 people on Saturday in a large-scale anti-drug operation across five provinces, authorities said.
* Tajikistan's population stood at about 10.72 million as of Jan. 1, 2026, up 2 percent from the same date last year, the country's Agency on Statistics reported Friday. According to the agency, the figure was calculated taking into account registered births, deaths and migration.
* NASA on Thursday completed a key wet dress rehearsal for its Artemis II crewed lunar mission, successfully fueling its Space Launch System rocket and demonstrating the launch countdown sequence at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in the U.S. state of Florida.
* At least 46 people have died in Malawi from lightning strikes or collapsing buildings since the onset of the 2025/2026 rainfall season in November 2025, the Department of Disaster Management Affairs (DoDMA) said in a statement released Friday.
* Five migrants were confirmed dead and at least 20 others remained missing after a wooden boat carrying dozens of people capsized in waters south of Greece's largest island Crete early Saturday, authorities said.
* The prefectural government of Iwate, northeastern Japan, has confirmed an outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza at a poultry farm, local media reported Saturday.
* Veterinary authorities in the government-controlled areas of Cyprus confirmed on Friday the first case of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) at a cow-breeding unit in Livadia, a village in the Larnaca district in southeastern Cyprus.
* China's National Meteorological Center issued a blue alert for a cold wave on Saturday. From February 21 to 23, the cold wave will cause significant temperature drops of 6 to 10 degrees Celsius in the northern and northeastern regions, according to the center.
* Severe snowfall across the southern German state of Bavaria caused multiple traffic accidents and flight disruptions at the Munich Airport, authorities said on Friday.
