* U.S. President Donald Trump said Thursday he will not put troops in Iran as the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran is escalating. Trump made the remarks when meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae at the White House.
* U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Thursday that the United States may lift sanctions on Iranian oil that is already in transit amid surging energy prices as a result of the U.S.-Israeli military strikes on Iran.
* U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed on Thursday that the Pentagon would ask Congress for more money to wage war in Iran.
* A U.S. F-35 fighter jet was forced to make an emergency landing on Thursday at a U.S. military base in the Middle East after it was struck by what was believed to be Iranian fire, according to a CNN report citing two sources familiar with the matter.
* Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Thursday that the U.S.-Israeli military strikes against Iran are "illegal" and that the Spanish government condemns and firmly opposes them.
* Kim Jong Un, top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), on Thursday oversaw a coordinated offensive tactical drill of infantrymen and tankmen's sub-units during his visit to a training base, according to the country's official news agency.
* Russia has delivered a new batch of Pantsir-S anti-aircraft missile and gun systems to the country's armed forces, Russia's state-owned technology corporation Rostec said Friday.
* Belarus is prepared for high-level negotiations with its Western neighbors to restore normal operations at border crossing points, Foreign Minister Maxim Ryzhenkov said on Thursday.
* European Union (EU) leaders on Thursday pledged to remain vigilant against any spillover from the Middle East conflicts that could trigger migratory pressure on the bloc, as the conflicts pose growing risks to Europe.
* Denmark prepared contingency measures in January for a possible U.S. military move against Greenland, including sending blood supplies and explosives to the Arctic island, Danish broadcaster DR reported on Thursday, citing anonymous sources in Denmark and elsewhere in Europe.
* French President Emmanuel Macron said Thursday that he hopes the United States and Iran can establish "direct discussions," and urged all sides to return to negotiations and dialogue to ease tensions in the Middle East.
* Russia expects the Russia-U.S.-Ukraine negotiations over the Ukraine issue to resume once the United States is able to devote more attention to the matter, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told local media on Thursday.
* Moscow calls for an immediate end to the hostilities resulting from the "unprovoked aggression" by the United States and Israel against Iran, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Thursday in a statement regarding the unfolding situation in the Persian Gulf region.
* The Estonian government on Thursday approved a draft Nuclear Energy and Safety Act and submitted it to parliament, the Riigikogu, for discussion.
* The European Union (EU) will provide an additional 140 million euros (around 162 million USD) in financial assistance to Armenia to support reforms related to visa liberalization, EU Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos said Thursday.
* Russia may develop a nuclear power station on the Moon within the next five to seven years, Mikhail Kovalchuk, president of Russia's Kurchatov Institute, said Thursday.
* All seven members of the Croatian Armed Forces who participated in the NATO mission in Iraq have been safely evacuated, Croatian President Zoran Milanovic's office announced on Thursday.
* The European Central Bank (ECB) on Thursday kept key interest rates unchanged as heightened geopolitical tensions weigh on the outlook of inflation and economy in the euro area.
* Russian forces have taken control of two settlements in the Donetsk region over the past 24 hours during a special military operation in Ukraine, the Russian Ministry of Defense said Thursday.
* Finland has once again been ranked the world's happiest country, marking its ninth consecutive year at the top, according to the World Happiness Report released on Thursday. A total of 147 countries and regions were included in the 2026 ranking.
* Cambodia and Brazil on Thursday reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening bilateral relations and expanding cooperation in various areas of mutual interest, said a Cambodian foreign ministry's news release.
* The Lao government has ordered nationwide adjustments to school operations, reducing the school week from five days to three, as part of emergency measures to ease financial pressure on families amid ongoing fuel price volatility.
* The Cambodian government has reduced import duties and value-added tax (VAT) for gasoline and diesel to zero in an attempt to stabilize retail oil prices in the kingdom amid the escalation of the Middle East conflict, the Ministry of Commerce announced on Friday.
* The Indonesian government will implement a flexible working policy with a one-day work-from-home scheme each week, as energy prices soar amid the conflict in the Middle East, said an official in a press release issued late Thursday.
* Thailand is currently not facing any oil shortages, with crude oil imports proceeding as normal and oil production capacity and output remaining unchanged without any reductions, said Thai Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Anutin Charnvirakul on Thursday.
* The 36th extraordinary session of the Council of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) on Thursday called for establishing a humanitarian maritime framework to facilitate the safe evacuation of merchant vessels currently confined within the Gulf region.
* Mongolia has asked the United States to remove it from the list of countries subject to visa bond requirements, the Mongolian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Thursday.
* Lebanese President Joseph Aoun on Thursday urged an immediate halt to the ongoing Israeli aggression, saying that stopping hostilities is essential for launching negotiations.
* The World Trade Organization (WTO) said on Thursday that global trade growth is set to slow in 2026 after a stronger-than-expected performance in 2025, warning that the ongoing Middle East conflict could add further pressure on global trade.
* The Philippines' balance of payments (BOP) registered a deficit of 2.3 billion USD in February, the Philippine central bank said Thursday.
* Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at a press conference on Thursday that Iran has lost its uranium enrichment and missile production capabilities.
* The Israeli military said Friday that its air force, acting on intelligence, killed Ali Mohammad Naini, spokesperson and head of public relations for Iran's Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC), in an overnight strike in Tehran.
* Iran's envoy in Vienna has asked the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to condemn the Israeli attack at Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant (NPP), calling the attack "a very grave and serious situation."
* The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement on Friday that it struck military infrastructure sites in southwestern Syria overnight to defend members of the country's Druze population.
* Interception fragments from a missile launched by Iran on Thursday struck Israel's largest oil refinery in Haifa, northern Israel, causing damage, according to Israeli media.
* One of Kuwait's key oil refineries came under another round of drone attacks early Friday, sparking a fire in parts of the facility, according to the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation.
* Qatar's Minister of State for Energy Affairs Saad bin Sherida Al Kaabi said Thursday that attacks on Ras Laffan Industrial City, the country's main site for liquefied natural gas (LNG) production, disrupted about 17 percent of Qatar's LNG export capacity, according to Qatar News Agency (QNA).
