* The Russian Foreign Ministry said Wednesday that it assumes parties to the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) between Russia and the United States are no longer bound by any obligations in the context of the deal.
* UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned on Wednesday that the expiration of New START, the U.S.-Russia nuclear arms reduction treaty, marks a grave moment for international peace and security.
* UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is concerned about the impact of the new U.S. oil embargo against Cuba, his spokesperson said Wednesday.
* The second round of U.S.-brokered talks between Russia and Ukraine started in Abu Dhabi, a member of the Ukrainian delegation said on Wednesday. According to Umerov, also a member of the Ukrainian delegation, the negotiation process started in a "trilateral format" involving Ukraine, the United States and Russia.
* Russia remains open to a peaceful settlement of the situation in Ukraine, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday. Peskov said the door to a negotiated settlement remains open, but Russia will continue the special military operation until "appropriate decisions are taken by Kiev."
* The European Parliament decided on Wednesday to resume legislative work related to proposals approving the European Union - U.S. trade deal.
* The Trump administration has changed its mind and agreed on Wednesday afternoon to hold nuclear talks with Iran in Oman on Friday, according to the latest report from U.S. media outlet Axios.
* Iran's nuclear talks with the United States will be held in Oman's Muscat on Friday, Iranian Foreign Minister Seyyed Abbas Araghchi said Wednesday.
* U.S. President Donald Trump and Colombian President Gustavo Petro described their nearly two-hour closed-door talks at the White House on Tuesday as friendly, signalling a warming of relations after months of tension between the two countries.
* White House border czar Tom Homan said Wednesday the Trump administration will draw down 700 federal law enforcement officers from the U.S. state of Minnesota "effective immediately." The announcement follows "unprecedented cooperation" between the federal government and state and local authorities, Homan said at a press conference.
* At least 216 terrorists were killed as Pakistan's security forces have concluded an anti-terrorist operation in the country's southwestern province of Balochistan, the military said on Thursday.
* A total of 261 Afghan prisoners have been released from jails in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Pakistan, Afghan government ministries announced in separate statements on Thursday.
* Palestinian resistance factions have agreed to hold on to their weapons, a senior official of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) said Wednesday.
* Israel's Defense Minister Israel Katz vowed Wednesday to dismantle Hamas if it refuses to disarm, threatening renewed military action in Gaza.
* Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi and his Saudi counterpart, Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, on Wednesday highlighted the necessity to continue close consultations to maintain stability in West Asia and safeguard all regional states' interests.
* Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi and his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, held talks on Wednesday in Cairo, aiming to strengthen ties and coordinate on key regional issues, particularly on Gaza.
* At least 75 bodies have been recovered after gunmen attacked two villages in Nigeria's central Kwara State earlier this week, local officials said late Wednesday.
* A federal government team has arrived in the southern Indian state of Kerala to assess the situation regarding avian influenza, commonly known as bird flu, officials said Wednesday.
* Indonesia recorded year-on-year economic growth of 5.11 percent in 2025, Statistics Indonesia (BPS) said on Thursday.
* Inflation in the euro area is seen at 1.7 percent in January, down from 2 percent in December, according to a flash estimate released on Wednesday by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.
* Austria saw a lower inflation rate in January, with falling energy prices dampening overall price pressures, official data showed on Wednesday. According to a flash estimate by Statistics Austria, the inflation rate in January is estimated at 2 percent, down from 3.8 percent in December.
* New Zealand's unemployment rate rose to 5.4 percent in the December 2025 quarter, the highest since the September 2015 quarter when it was 5.7 percent, Stats NZ reported Wednesday.
* Portugal's unemployment rate fell to 6 percent in 2025, the lowest annual level since 2011, according to data released Wednesday by the National Statistics Institute (INE). The unemployment rate declined by 0.4 percentage points year on year, outperforming the government's forecast of 6.1 percent outlined in the 2026 state budget proposal.
* Kazakhstan's business activity index (BAI) rose from 49.9 in December to 50.8 in January, returning to expansion territory, the National Bank of Kazakhstan (NBK) said Wednesday. The results were based on a monthly survey of enterprises conducted by the central bank to assess real-sector economic conditions, according to the NBK.
* Croatia's annual inflation rate rose to 3.4 percent in January, making it the Eurozone country with the second-highest price growth last month, according to Croatia's Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) and the Eurostat on Wednesday.
* South Africa has classified drought conditions and water supply disruptions in parts of the country as a national disaster. The classification was announced by the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA) in a government gazette published on Wednesday.
* Heavy snowfall across Japan since Jan. 20 has left 35 people dead and 358 injured nationwide, the country's Fire and Disaster Management Agency said on Wednesday.
* Successive storms have left 11 people dead in Portugal since late January, with the latest victim a 64-year-old man who died on Wednesday after his car was swept away by floodwaters while he was attempting to cross a road near the Amoreira Dam in Pias, in the municipality of Serpa, southern Portugal.
