* More than 13.14 million people voted in Myanmar's multi-party democratic general election, representing a voter turnout of over 54 percent, Zaw Min Tun, leader of the Information Team of Myanmar's National Defense and Security Council, said late Monday. Myanmar held the election in three phases: the first phase took place on Dec. 28 last year, the second on Jan. 11 this year, and the third on Jan. 25.
* The Bangladeshi interim government has announced public holidays on Feb. 11 and 12 nationwide to facilitate voting in the country's much-anticipated 13th general election and referendum.
* UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday called on member states to recommit themselves to the full respect of international law.
* At the invitation of Chinese Premier Li Qiang, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will pay an official visit to China from Jan. 28 to 31, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson announced Tuesday.
* Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva held a phone call with U.S. President Donald Trump and agreed to pay an official visit to Washington, Brazil's presidency said Monday.
* U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday he will raise tariffs on certain Republic of Korean goods from 15 percent to 25 percent, accusing the ROK's legislature of not having enacted a bilateral trade agreement with the United States.
* The ROK will implement the tariff agreement with the United States and calmly respond to U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff hike announcement, the presidential office said Tuesday.
* Republic of Korea (ROK)'s military said the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on Tuesday fired at least one unidentified projectile toward the East Sea, Yonhap News Agency reported. The ROK's Joint Chiefs of Staff said it had detected the launch, without providing further details.
* U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday that he is sending White House border czar Tom Homan to Minnesota, two days after a second fatal shooting by federal law enforcement in the northern U.S. state this month.
* Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Monday that Canada is focused on building economic resilience and diversifying trade partnerships to reduce its reliance on the United States.
* Russia's air defense forces shot down 109 Ukrainian fixed-wing drones and two guided aerial bombs in the past 24 hours, the Russian Ministry of Defense said in a statement on Monday.
* Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Monday that the next trilateral meeting between delegations from Ukraine, the United States and Russia could take place on Feb. 1.
* The European Parliament has delayed until next week a decision on whether to restart work on the EU-U.S. trade deal, after pausing its approval process last week, in protest over U.S. President Donald Trump's push to acquire Greenland and his tariff threats against European allies, according to a senior lawmaker on Monday.
* The Council of the European Union (EU) on Monday gave a final approval to a ban on imports of Russian pipeline gas and liquefied natural gas (LNG) into the EU, with a full ban entering into force from January 2027 for LNG and from the autumn of 2027 for pipeline gas.
* Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson has emphasized the need to strengthen what he termed a "European NATO," arguing that European allies should assume greater responsibility for their own security, according to local media reports.
* Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Monday that Hungary would take diplomatic steps after what he called offensive and threatening remarks by Ukrainian political leaders toward Hungary and its government.
* France's National Assembly approved on Monday legislation that bans children and teenagers under 15 from using social media, citing concerns over its impact on mental health.
* Hundreds of Bosnian freight truck drivers on Monday blocked cargo traffic at all freight-designated border crossings between Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) and neighboring Croatia, a European Union (EU) member, in protest against EU travel rules.
* Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand said Monday a Royal Canadian Navy patrol vessel will be on the scene when the federal government opens a new consulate in Greenland next week, local media reported.
* The Belarusian Defense Ministry has initiated a large-scale inspection of its armed forces on Monday, the BelTA news agency reported.
* Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda has stressed that Europe must take greater responsibility for its own defense while underlining the transatlantic ties.
* The United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Monday reaffirmed its commitment not to allow its airspace, territory or waters to be used in any military actions against Iran, according to a statement issued by the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
* Tens of thousands of Kaiser Permanente healthcare workers walked off the job early Monday in the U.S. state of California, launching an open-ended strike that marks the latest labor disruption at the nation's largest not-for-profit integrated healthcare system.
* South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said the government is considering deploying the army to gang violence hotspots to tackle persistent gang-related crime. The president's remarks came amid a surge in gang-related fatal incidents in several parts of the country.
* Israel on Monday released nine Palestinian detainees from the Gaza Strip, who arrived at Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, hours after the Israeli army announced the recovery of the remains of the last Israeli hostage held in Gaza.
* Türkiye's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan met with a Hamas delegation on Monday to discuss developments related to the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement, according to the state-run TRT broadcaster.
* Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said on Monday Iran will give a "comprehensive and regret-inducing" response to any aggression.
* Israel's military said in a statement that it carried out another attack on southern Lebanon on Monday, targeting a Hezbollah member.
* Hezbollah leader Sheikh Naim Qassem warned on Monday that any military attack on Iran would not leave his group on the sidelines, saying such a move could trigger wider regional escalation, local media reported.
* Qatari Minister of State Mohammed Abdulaziz Al-Khulaifi on Monday announced a major package of development and humanitarian initiatives to help Lebanon, totaling over 420 million USD.
* Heavy fighting broke out early Monday in areas around the northern Syrian city of Kobani, also known as Ain al-Arab, amid mutual accusations between the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and Damascus-linked forces of violating a recently extended ceasefire.
* The Afghan government has initiated a program to provide cash assistance and food rations to 80,000 families of returning migrants nationwide, the administrative deputy of the country's prime minister announced on Sunday.
* The Myanmar Investment Commission (MIC) has approved 20 new investment projects, the state-owned The Mirror daily reported on Tuesday.
* Thailand's investment pledges reached an all-time high of 1.88 trillion baht (about 60.42 billion USD) in 2025, soaring 67 percent from a year earlier, in a strategic shift toward a high-tech and innovation-driven economy, official data showed on Monday.
* Oil production at Kazakhstan's major Tengiz oil field exceeded 39 million tons in 2025, the press service of the Kazakh prime minister said Monday. Kazakhstan's national oil and gas company KazMunayGas (KMG) earlier projected Tengiz oil output at 35.7 million tons for 2025.
* Brazil's current account deficit amounted to 68.8 billion USD in 2025, the worst level in 11 years, according to data published Monday by the Central Bank.
* Sri Lanka's export sector recorded sustained growth in 2025, with total export earnings exceeding 17.2 billion USD, according to official statistics.
* Malaysia's tourism sector recorded 42.2 million visitors in 2025, an 11.2 percent year-on-year increase and 20.4 percent higher than 2019 benchmarks, the country's state agency Bernama cited Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi as saying.
* Ethiopia's Ministry of Health on Monday declared the end of the Marburg virus disease outbreak in the country.
* Over 2,000 people were forced to stay at New Chitose Airport from Monday night to Tuesday after record snowfall disrupted transport in Japan's northern prefecture of Hokkaido.
* Ten people remained missing after an inter-island ferry with 344 people onboard sank early Monday in waters off Basilan province in the southern Philippines, with 18 having been confirmed dead, authorities said Tuesday.
* At least 38 people have been killed in a landslide that struck the Cisarua area of West Java province, Indonesia, with victim identification efforts still underway, the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) said Tuesday.
* At least 28 weather-related deaths were reported Monday as a massive winter storm dumped snow across dozens of U.S. states over the weekend, causing widespread power outages, flight cancellations and school closures.
* The all-time temperature record in the southeast Australian state of Victoria was broken on Tuesday amid a severe heatwave. The small town of Walpeup, 400 km northwest of Melbourne, and the airport in the nearby town of Hopetoun each recorded maximum temperatures of 48.9 degrees Celsius on Tuesday afternoon, according to the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM).
