* British Prime Minister Keir Starmer's official visit to China yielded fruitful results, demonstrating the breadth and depth of cooperation between the two countries, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said in Beijing on Friday. Spokesperson Guo Jiakun said at a regular news briefing that this is the first visit to China by a British prime minister in eight years, and Starmer is also the first leader of a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council received by China in 2026.
* U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Friday that he is nominating Kevin Warsh, a former Federal Reserve governor, to be the next chair of the central bank. The nomination, which came two days after the Fed's decision to keep the federal funds rate unchanged at 3.5 percent to 3.75 percent, needs to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate.
* Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski proposed an EU-funded "European legion" on Thursday, suggesting a brigade-sized force to address the bloc's deteriorating security, according to a report by the Polish Press Agency.
* Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Friday that no agreement has been reached on the Donetsk region during the recent peace talks, reaffirming that Ukraine is not prepared to cede its territory to Russia.
* The date and venue for the next round of peace talks on Ukraine, initially planned for Sunday in Abu Dhabi, may change, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Friday.
* Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Thursday he expects the agreements between the United States and Russia on not targeting Ukrainian cities during extreme winter weather to be implemented.
* U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday that he has had conversations with Iranian leaders and plans to continue discussions.
* A U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyer docked Friday at the Red Sea port of Eilat, the southernmost city in Israel, the Israel Defense Forces said. The military said the docking was "routine and pre-planned," part of regular cooperation between the Israeli and U.S. forces.
* Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi and his Azerbaijani counterpart, Jeyhun Bayramov, on Thursday exchanged views on tensions in the region in the wake of the U.S. military buildup, according to the foreign ministries of both countries.
* U.S. President Donald Trump said Thursday he has directed his administration to reopen Venezuelan airspace to commercial flights, a move he said would allow U.S. citizens to travel to Venezuela in the near future.
* U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday signed an executive order threatening to impose tariffs on countries that sell oil to Cuba.
* Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and her U.S. counterpart Donald Trump spoke over telephone on Thursday. During the call, they agreed to have their respective teams continue to address pending bilateral issues, Sheinbaum said on social media.
* Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Thursday said he expects the United States to "respect Canadian sovereignty" after media reported that U.S. officials had met with a group advocating for the separation of the province of Alberta from Canada.
* Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen on Wednesday denied that there was an agreement between the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the United States on the Greenland issue.
* The European Union (EU) foreign ministers agreed on Thursday to add Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to the bloc's terrorist list, EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas said.
* Iran's Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said on Friday in Istanbul that Iran is willing to negotiate with the United States but "cannot begin under threat."
* The Iranian Foreign Ministry has summoned Germany's ambassador to Tehran over "imprudent, meddlesome and provocative" remarks by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz against Iran and its armed forces.
* Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi and his Azerbaijani counterpart, Jeyhun Bayramov, on Thursday exchanged views on tensions in the region in the wake of the U.S. military buildup, according to the foreign ministries of both countries.
* Israel will reopen the Rafah crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt for pedestrian traffic in both directions on Sunday, an Israeli government-affiliated body announced in a statement on Friday.
* South Africa's Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) on Friday declared Israeli Charge d'Affaires Ariel Seidman persona non grata and ordered him to leave the country within 72 hours. DIRCO said the decision follows "a series of unacceptable violations of diplomatic norms and practice" by Seidman, which it described as posing "a direct challenge to South Africa's sovereignty."
* Pakistan's Security forces have killed 41 terrorists in two separate intelligence-based operations in southwestern Balochistan province, the military said on Friday.
* Tajikistan's border guards have foiled an armed drug smuggling attempt from Afghanistan and seized a large quantity of narcotics, Tajik authorities said Friday.
* The UN Security Council on Thursday unanimously adopted a resolution to extend the mandate of the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH) for a year, until Jan. 31, 2027.
* Renewable energy accounted for over 60 percent of China's total installed power generation capacity in 2025 as the country's use of wind and solar power increased, official data showed Friday. China added more than 430 gigawatts of new wind and solar power capacity in 2025, lifting its total installed renewable capacity above 1,800 gigawatts, the National Energy Administration said.
* Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday announced cuts in industrial power tariffs and export financing rates to support industry and trade.
* Malaysia and Singapore have reaffirmed the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone (JS-SEZ) as a key pillar of bilateral economic ties and noted that it is moving from planning to implementation, Malaysia's Ministry of Economy said on Friday.
* Kyrgyzstan's international reserves have exceeded 10 billion USD for the first time in the country's history, the Kyrgyz National Kabar News Agency reported on Friday, citing Daiyrbek Orunbekov, head of the Information Policy Service of the Presidential Administration.
* Gross domestic product (GDP) in the euro area grew by 1.5 percent in 2025, while the European Union (EU) economy expanded by 1.6 percent, according to data released on Friday by the EU's statistical office Eurostat.
* Germany had its highest number of unemployed in 12 years in January, with the total climbing above 3 million, official data showed Friday, as the labor market remained under pressure from a weak economy.
* Persistent heavy snowfall driven by winter pressure patterns has hit many parts of Japan in recent days, leaving at least 14 people dead and 198 others injured nationwide, the country's Fire and Disaster Management Agency said on Friday.
* A rare mix of a tropical cyclone, moist airflows and stalled atmospheric waves has brought record-breaking heat to southeastern Australia, experts said Friday. Meteorologists said the heatwave formed when a strong high-pressure system stalled over the inland regions and trapped hot air near the ground while delaying cooler fronts.
* Portugal's government on Thursday declared a state of calamity in areas most affected by Storm Kristin. The Prime Minister's office announced the decision in a statement, adding that Prime Minister Luis Montenegro would visit storm-hit areas in the districts of Leiria and Coimbra.
