* U.S. President Donald Trump said early Saturday morning that the U.S. forces are carrying out a "massive and ongoing" attack on Iran to eliminate "imminent threats from the Iranian regime."
* Iran has launched multiple waves of missile attacks targeting U.S. military bases across the Middle East, including bases in Kuwait, the UAE, Qatar, and Bahrain, Iran's state media reported on Saturday. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that all U.S. military bases in the region are now considered legitimate targets of Iran's military.
* Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei is still alive "as far as I know," Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi told NBC News after the United States and Israel launched massive strikes on Iran early Saturday morning.
* China is highly concerned over the military strikes against Iran launched by the U.S. and Israel, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said on Saturday, noting that China calls for an immediate stop of the military actions.
* French President Emmanuel Macron said on Saturday that the outbreak of war between the United States, Israel and Iran carries grave consequences for international peace and security. In a post on social media platform X, Macron said the ongoing escalation is dangerous for all and must stop.
* Russia on Saturday demanded an immediate return to political and diplomatic efforts to resolve tensions surrounding Iran, following U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iranian territory.
* European Union (EU) leaders on Saturday said developments in Iran were "greatly concerning" and urged all sides to exercise maximum restraint.
* African Union (AU) Commission Chairperson Mahmoud Ali Youssouf on Saturday expressed "deep concern" over the military escalation in the Middle East, warning that further escalation threatens to worsen global instability.
* The Dutch government on Saturday called on all parties to exercise restraint to prevent further escalation in the Middle East. Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten said in a post on the social media platform X that the Netherlands is closely monitoring developments in the region.
* The U.S. Embassy in Abu Dhabi and the U.S. Consulate General in Dubai on Saturday issued a shelter-in-place alert for all staff amid heightened security concerns, urging U.S. citizens in the United Arab Emirates to do the same until further notice.
* Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand issued an urgent statement on Friday, calling on Canadian citizens in parts of the Middle East to leave due to a "volatile and unpredictable" security situation.
* President of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan on Saturday discussed Iranian attacks and regional developments with Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, local media reported.
* U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will visit Israel early next week, the U.S. State Department said Friday in a statement.
* UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday called for an immediate cessation of hostilities between Afghanistan and Pakistan, his spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said.
* At least 52 people were killed and 66 others injured in Pakistani airstrikes in Afghanistan since last Sunday, Hamdullah Fitrat, deputy spokesman for the Afghan government, said on Saturday.
* The Afghan air force launched fresh air raids inside Pakistan and targeted military bases, inflicting damage and casualties around midnight Friday, said a statement of the Afghan National Defense Ministry on Saturday.
* Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday voiced willingness to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin at a trilateral summit with the United States, warning that the conflict could become protracted without such talks.
* The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has approved a new four-year financing program for Ukraine totaling 8.1 billion USD, the Interfax-Ukraine news agency reported Friday.
* A localized ceasefire has been declared in the area of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP), allowing repair work to begin on damaged energy infrastructure, Russia's state nuclear corporation Rosatom said on Friday.
* Poland's lower house of parliament, the Sejm, on Friday approved a bill allowing the country to access the European Union (EU)'s Security Action for Europe (SAFE) program, the Polish Press Agency reported.
* The campaign for the presidential election in the Republic of the Congo, scheduled for March 15, officially began on Saturday, with seven candidates competing for the country's top office for the next five years.
* China registered an average of 26,000 newly established enterprises per day in 2025, official data showed on Saturday. A total of 25.74 million new businesses were set up nationwide last year, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
* Russia's oil exports stood at 238 million tonnes in 2025, down 1 percent year on year, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said Friday. Novak said Russia's exports of petroleum products dropped nearly 7 percent from 122.5 million tonnes to 114 million tonnes.
* India's economy grew 7.8 percent in the October-December (Q3) period, government data released on Friday showed. The previous quarter saw the economy grow 8.4 percent.
* The Philippines' total external trade in goods increased by 0.9 percent in January this year to 18.24 billion USD from 18.07 billion dollars in January 2025, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said on Friday.
* Kyrgyzstan's economy has almost tripled over the past five years, Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov said in Bishkek on Friday. In 2020, the country's gross domestic product stood at about 8.3 billion USD, and by the end of 2025, it is expected to exceed 22.6 billion dollars.
* Finland's economy expanded slightly in 2025, marking a fragile return to growth after a period of stagnation, according to data released by Statistics Finland on Friday. Finland's gross domestic product (GDP) increased by 0.2 percent in 2025, with the fourth quarter registering a 0.4 percent growth, compared to the previous quarter.
* Sweden's gross domestic product (GDP) grew 1.5 percent in 2025, Statistics Sweden (SCB) reported on Friday. In the fourth quarter, GDP rose 2.1 percent from a year earlier and increased 0.5 percent from the previous quarter, SCB said.
* Cambodia is expected to receive 8 million air passengers in 2026, up from 6.98 million last year, Mao Havannall, minister in charge of the State Secretariat of Civil Aviation (SSCA), said on Friday.
* At least 15 people were killed and 30 others injured after a Bolivian military plane crashed on Friday in the western city of El Alto, local media reported.
