* Ecuador has temporarily closed its land borders with Colombia and Peru as of Saturday to ensure national security ahead of Sunday's general elections, the Presidency confirmed.
* The top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) vowed on Saturday to bolster war response posture to cope with any security situation during his visit to the Ministry of National Defence marking Day of Army Founding, state media said on Sunday.
* The Lebanese Presidency announced Saturday the formation of a new 24-member government headed by Prime Minister Nawaf Salam. According to local TV channel al-Jadeed, Salam told reporters at the presidential palace that the new government will be reform-driven, which is the only path to saving Lebanon.
* Talks between South Sudan's Transitional Government of National Unity and holdout opposition groups adjourned Saturday in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi, after making some progress that could usher in a new dispensation in the country, Chief Mediator Lazarus Sumbeiywo has said.
* At least 31 Naxals and two police officers were killed and two others wounded in a fierce gunfight on Sunday in the central Indian state of Chhattisgarh, the police said. According to officials, the search operation was underway in the area until the last reports poured in.
* The Kaliningrad region, a Russian enclave bordered by the Baltic states, has transitioned to independent power operation following the withdrawal of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia from the unified energy ring with Russia and Belarus, Russian authorities announced on Saturday.
* South Africa on Saturday expressed concern over a U.S. executive order to cut financial assistance to the country, the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) said.
* Western sanctions on Iran will fail to bring the country to its knees, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Saturday, stressing the importance of Iran's self-reliance.
* The effective implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement presents significant market opportunities for Ethiopia in its ambition to harness intra-African trade and penetrate the broader continental market, a senior Ethiopian official has said.
* African leaders on Saturday called for an "immediate ceasefire" in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and reaffirmed their full support for seeking a lasting solution to the ongoing conflict.
* The United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Saturday strongly condemned remarks made by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who suggested that a Palestinian state could be established on Saudi Arabian territory.
* Egypt strongly condemned on Saturday the "irresponsible and utterly unacceptable" statements by Israeli officials suggesting establishing a Palestinian state on Saudi territory.
* Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu instructed a delegation to depart for Doha, Qatar, on Saturday to resume negotiations with mediating countries regarding the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire-hostage agreement with Hamas, according to multiple Israeli media outlets.
* Israeli forces expanded their military operation in the occupied West Bank on Sunday, launching a raid in the Nur Shams refugee camp, a military spokesperson said.
* The Israeli military said on Saturday its air force struck a Hezbollah target in the Bekaa Valley in eastern Lebanon. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement that the strike targeted a "strategic weapons manufacturing and storage site" belonging to Hezbollah.
* The Lebanese army said on Saturday it had ordered troops deployed along the Syrian border to retaliate against fire originating from Syrian territory.
* Dozens of civilians were killed in a terrorist attack by the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS) on Friday near Kobe, northern Mali, media reports said.
* The Swedish government has announced plans to tighten firearm regulations and enhance school security following a deadly school shooting in Orebro.
* Sri Lankan authorities have been working to restore power following a nationwide outage that occurred on Sunday, the state-owned electricity producer and supplier, Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB), announced.
* The Afghan caretaker government's Ministry of Public Works has signed road construction contracts with two companies worth 713 million afghani (more than 9.6 million USD), a spokesman for the ministry said on Sunday.
* At least 20 people were killed early Saturday when a passenger bus collided with a truck on a highway in the southeastern Mexican state of Campeche, according to local media.
* A powerful cold air mass and winter pressure patterns have brought continuous snowfall to coastal and mountainous areas along the Sea of Japan, significantly increasing snow accumulation that caused widespread disruptions to people's lives.
* Approximately 7,500 livestock have perished in Mongolia so far this winter due to extreme cold weather, locally known as "dzud," local media reported on Saturday, citing the State Emergency Commission (SEC).
