* U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken admitted Saturday that the United States had "quietly sent a lot of weapons to Ukraine" five months ahead of the conflict.
* China's central bank has outlined its monetary and financial priorities for 2025 following a two-day meeting that ended Saturday, emphasizing expanding domestic demand, stabilizing expectations and stimulating vitality to ensure sustained improvement in the Chinese economy.
* Afghanistan's total trade volume in 2024 exceeded more than 12 billion USD, with a 38-percent increase in imports year-on-year and a 4-percent decrease in exports, said the country's Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
* At least 30 Palestinians were killed and some others missing in Israeli airstrikes on various areas of the Gaza Strip, said Palestinian sources on Saturday.
* Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty held phone talks on Saturday with his Lebanese counterpart Abdallah Bou Habib, during which they urged a political transition in Syria free from foreign interference.
* The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) on Saturday accused the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) of destroying its property and a Lebanese army's infrastructure in southern Lebanon.
* The Hamas-run Gaza media office said on Saturday evening that the Israeli army carried out 94 airstrikes and shelling on the Gaza Strip over the past 72 hours, killing 184 people.
* Qatari Minister of State at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Mohammed bin Abdulaziz bin Saleh Al Khulaifi on Saturday held phone talks with Syria's interim Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani on bilateral ties and recent developments in Syria.
* The Israeli police on Saturday arrested two Israelis who had crossed into Syrian territory by vehicle before being detained by the Israeli army. According to Israel's state-owned Kan TV News, the suspects were apprehended approximately 1.5 km inside Syrian territory while in their vehicle.
* The West Coast Military Zone of the Libyan Defense Ministry said Saturday it launched a large-scale anti-crime military operation in the area. The first phase of the operation will begin in the city of Zawiya, some 45 km west of the capital Tripoli, it said in a statement.
* At least eight civilians were killed and 53 others injured in artillery shelling by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in the Sudanese capital Khartoum and El Fasher city in western Sudan's North Darfur State.
* At least four people were killed and 32 others injured in an explosion in Pakistan's southwestern Balochistan province on Saturday, local media and officials said.
* A total of 226 residents from 36 households in the Maldivian capital Male have been relocated to temporary shelters due to a severe flood caused by continuous rainfalls, the Maldives' official PSM News said on Saturday, quoting the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA).
* About 35 residents were evacuated early Sunday morning after a fire broke out in a vacant three-story semi-detached house in eastern Singapore, authorities said.
