* Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said late Wednesday that he spoke on the phone with U.S. President Donald Trump about preparations for future talks aimed at ending the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
* Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced Wednesday that the next round of talks between delegations from Ukraine, the United States and Russia is expected to take place in early March, local media reported.
* The top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea has said the building of DPRK-U.S. relations depends entirely on the United States, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported Thursday.
* Republic of Korean President Lee Jae Myung on Thursday urged sustained efforts to reduce hostility with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, according to local media.
* The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) under the U.S. Department of the Treasury will allow the resale of Venezuelan origin oil to Cuba's non-governmental sectors, according to an update from the OFAC on Wednesday.
* Overseas Cambodian workers sent home about 1.86 billion USD in 2025, significantly down from 2.95 billion dollars in the year before, said a Ministry of Labor and Vocational Training report on Thursday.
* The U.S. administration on Wednesday sanctioned over 30 individuals, entities and vessels enabling "illicit" Iran's oil sales and ballistic missile and advanced conventional weapons (ACW) production.
* Canada announced on Wednesday that it will provide 8 million Canadian dollars (about 5.8 million USD) in humanitarian assistance to Cuba amid the country's worsening conditions.
* The Australian government announced on Wednesday that it has ordered the departure of all family members of its officials stationed in Israel, citing a deteriorating security situation in the Middle East.
* Iran's Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi on Wednesday night met his Omani counterpart Sayyid Badr bin Hamad bin Hamood Albusaidi ahead of the new round of indirect nuclear talks between Tehran and Washington scheduled for Thursday in Geneva.
* Jordan's King Abdullah II and visiting Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto on Wednesday stressed the need for dialogue to de-escalate regional tensions, calling for support for Syria and Lebanon's sovereignty and a renewed push for the two-state solution, according to a statement by the Royal Court.
* Jordan's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi on Wednesday discussed the situation in the Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, stressing the urgent need to uphold the ceasefire agreement.
* Lebanon will not be allowed to take part in any renewed conflict, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said on Wednesday.
* Syrian authorities said Wednesday that chaos at the detention camp al-Hol came after a sudden, uncoordinated withdrawal by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which had triggered mass escapes and renewed security concerns.
* Up to 34 terrorists were killed as security forces conducted a series of intelligence-driven operations in Pakistan, the military said on Wednesday.
* A United Nations agency on Wednesday warned of a worsening humanitarian crisis in Somalia, with nearly 6.5 million people facing high levels of hunger and more than 1.8 million children at risk of acute malnutrition due to severe drought.
* Egypt on Wednesday strongly condemned a recent attack by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on civilians in Sudan's North Darfur State, renewing its commitment to Sudan's unity and stability.
* A report of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) released Wednesday projects U.S. real GDP growth of 2.6 percent in 2026, slightly higher than its January forecast of 2.4 percent.
* Russia's gross domestic product grew by 1 percent in 2025, with cumulative growth exceeding 10 percent over the past three years despite mounting external challenges, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said Wednesday.
* Singapore's manufacturing output rose 16.6 percent year-on-year in January 2026, accelerating from 10.9 percent growth in December 2025, the Singapore Economic Development Board said on Thursday. On a seasonally adjusted month-on-month basis, factory output expanded 5.3 percent in January.
* The death toll from heavy rains in Brazil's southeastern Minas Gerais state has risen to 46, with 21 people still missing, according to the latest official update on Wednesday.
* Finland recorded its second warmest year on record in 2025, with temperatures across most of the country only slightly below the record set in 2020, the Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI) said in its annual climate report released on Wednesday.
