* China called on the United States to resume strategic stability dialogues with Russia to discuss the follow-up arrangements as the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) between the United States and Russia has expired, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on Friday.
* U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday called for replacing the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) between the United States and Russia with a "modernized" deal.
* Russia and the United States recognize the need to begin negotiations on the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) as soon as possible, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday.
* The United States and Russia agreed on Thursday to reestablish high-level military-to-military dialogue in Abu Dhabi, according to a statement released by the U.S. European Command. The dialogue channel was suspended in the fall of 2021 prior to the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the statement said.
* The second round of U.S.-brokered talks between Russia and Ukraine concluded in Abu Dhabi on Thursday, with both sides agreeing to a large-scale prisoner exchange but failing to achieve substantive breakthroughs on core issues such as territorial arrangements and a ceasefire.
* Ukraine must be "a neutral and benign state" to be Russia's neighbour for the long term, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in an interview with Russia Today (RT) on Thursday.
* Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Thursday that the next peace talks with the delegations of the U.S. and Russia will be held soon.
* The European Commission has proposed a 20th package of sanctions against Russia, targeting key sectors including energy, financial services and trade, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Friday.
* The U.S. Embassy will have "no further dealings" with Polish parliament speaker Wlodzimierz Czarzasty after he insulted U.S. President Donald Trump, U.S. Ambassador to Poland Tom Rose said on Thursday.
* Russian forces have struck the Ukrainian military's transport and energy infrastructure over the past 24 hours, Russia's Defense Ministry reported on Thursday.
* Russia has declared a diplomat at Germany's embassy in Russia persona non grata in retaliation for Berlin's expulsion of a Russian embassy staff member, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Thursday. The ministry added that the head of Germany's diplomatic mission in Russia was summoned and handed a note outlining the decision.
* Ukrainian forces struck the launch site of Russia's Oreshnik hypersonic ballistic missile in January, according to a statement on Thursday by the general staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
* France has opened a consulate in Greenland, becoming the first European Union country to establish a diplomatic mission in the autonomous Danish territory, the French Foreign Ministry said Friday.
* The indirect talks between Iran and the United States in Oman's Muscat were "a good start," with both sides agreeing to continue negotiations in the future, Iran's Fars News Agency reported Friday, citing Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi.
* Omani Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr bin Hamad Al Busaidi said on Friday that the indirect talks between Iran and the United States, mediated by Oman in Muscat, were "very serious" and "useful."
* The Donald Trump administration on Thursday launched a new website in an attempt to lower prescription drug prices in the country.
* The U.S. military on Thursday struck another alleged drug-trafficking vessel in the eastern Pacific, killing two people, the U.S. Southern Command said on X.
* Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Thursday that Mexico maintains a firm and unwavering stance in defense of its independence and sovereignty.
* Venezuela's National Assembly on Thursday unanimously approved in a first reading the draft Amnesty Law for Democratic Coexistence, aimed at laying the groundwork for national reconciliation.
* Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said Thursday that national sovereignty is not up for discussion and called it "sacred."
* Italy approved tougher security measures on Thursday, including provisions allowing temporary preventive detention of individuals suspected of plotting violence during demonstrations.
* Sri Lanka's Parliament on Friday approved a one-month extension of the state of emergency. A total of 106 lawmakers voted in favor of the proposal, while two voted against and 117 absent when the vote was taken.
* Visiting French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot voiced France's support for Syria's transition and reconstruction efforts on Thursday during a meeting with Syrian foreign chief Asaad Hassan al-Shaibani, Syria's state news agency SANA reported.
* Malaysia's development path will continue to deliver socio-economic growth, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said on Thursday. The country's gross domestic product was on track to grow by around 4.9 percent in 2025, with inflation contained at 1.6 percent and the ringgit continuing to strengthen, Anwar said in his keynote address at the official launch of Malaysia Economic Forum 2026.
* Boosting business productivity and addressing fiscal pressures would unlock stronger and more resilient growth in Bulgaria, according to a report released by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) on Thursday.
* The Ishim-Astana trunk gas pipeline being built for gas supply to Kazakhstan's northern regions is scheduled to start operation on Jan. 1, 2030, Kazakh Ambassador to Russia Dauren Abayev said Thursday. The project stems from a strategic cooperation agreement reached between Kazakhstan and Russia in 2023 and a follow-up memorandum signed in October 2025.
* The Philippines' unemployment rate held steady at 4.4 percent in December 2025, with about 2.26 million Filipinos out of work, said the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) on Friday.
* Finnish goods exports returned to growth in 2025 after two weak years, Finnish Customs reported on Thursday, with the increase driven entirely by demand outside the European Union (EU).
* Hungary's Paks II nuclear power plant project has officially entered the construction phase under the standards of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) following the pouring of the first concrete, Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Szijjarto Peter said on Thursday at the project site.
* The Bank of England (BoE) has kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 3.75 percent, Britain's central bank said in a statement Thursday.
* Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty urged de-escalation and the overcoming of differences between the United States and Iran to spare the region the specter of war, Egypt's Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Thursday.
* A delegation of Syria's defense authorities arrived in the northeastern city of Hasakah on Friday to coordinate procedures of integrating the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) into the national military, advancing an internationally-backed ceasefire and phased integration deal signed on Jan. 30.
* Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani met visiting French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot on Thursday to discuss bilateral ties and regional security, his office said.
* The Gaza Ministry of Health reported dozens of fatalities and injuries over the past 24 hours, while patients and companions went through the Rafah crossing, UN humanitarians said Thursday.
* At least 31 people were killed and around 170 others were injured after an explosion ripped through a mosque during Friday prayers in Pakistan's federal capital city of Islamabad, police and government officials said.
* Unidentified gunmen Friday shot dead Lucky Oberoi, a local leader belonging to the ruling Aam Aadmi Party in the northern Indian state of Punjab, police said. Oberoi was fired upon from a point-blank range outside a Sikh temple in Jalandhar Model Town area in Punjab.
* The death toll in Thursday's coal mine explosion in India's northeastern state of Meghalaya rose to 18, confirmed official sources on Friday. The blast occurred at a coal mine in a village in the state's East Jaintia Hills district.
* At least six people, including a child, were slightly injured after a grenade exploded Friday afternoon in a beauty salon in the southeastern French city of Grenoble, local media reported.
* Romania's National Institute of Hydrology and Water Management (INHGA) issued a red flood alert on Friday for the Niscov River in Prahova and Buzau counties, warning of dangerous rises in water levels following heavy rainfall.
* The number of influenza cases in Japan is seeing a resurgence, exceeding the alert threshold after easing in December 2025, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare said on Friday.
