* Around 60 percent of eligible voters cast their votes in the House of Representatives elections in Nepal that concluded on Thursday, the top official of the Election Committee said. In a press conference, Ram Prasad Bhandari, acting chief election commissioner, claimed that the polls were largely peaceful across the country.
* Ukraine has discussed with the United States the possibility of postponing the next trilateral meeting with Russia and changing its location due to the situation in the Middle East, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Thursday.
* Japan's ruling coalition on Friday submitted a proposal to revise the operational guidelines of the Three Principles on Transfer of Defense Equipment and Technology, the country's framework governing arms exports, local media reported.
* UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday called on world leaders to halt arms races and invest in the architecture of peace, not the tools of war.
* The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) said Thursday that mediation efforts conducted jointly with the United States had led to an exchange of 400 captives between Russia and Ukraine, with 200 prisoners released by each side.
* The U.S. State Department announced on Thursday that the United States and Venezuela have agreed to re-establish diplomatic and consular relations.
* U.S. President Donald Trump said he must be personally involved in selecting Iran's next leader, the U.S. news website Axios reported Thursday.
* U.S. President Donald Trump said Thursday that sending U.S. ground troops into Iran is a "waste of time," suggesting that an invasion of the country is not an option at the moment.
* Israel's military announced early Friday that it had launched a "broad-scale" wave of airstrikes against Iranian government infrastructure in Tehran.
* Iran's Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi has said that his country is not requesting a ceasefire with the United States and Israel, and does not see any reason to negotiate with Washington.
* Iran launched fresh missile attacks toward Israel late Thursday, the military said, as the police reported damage in several locations in central Israel.
* The European Union (EU) and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) on Thursday called for dialogue and diplomacy to resolve the current crisis in the Middle East, according to the Council of the EU.
* China will continue working with all sides, including those involved in relevant conflicts in the Middle East, to maintain communication, step up mediation efforts and pool consensus, a foreign ministry spokesperson said on Thursday at a daily press briefing.
* Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi on Thursday addressed the ongoing Middle East crisis triggered by U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran, noting that Egypt is pursuing mediation efforts to halt the war, according to an Egyptian Presidency statement.
* Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Thursday that tensions in the Middle East have reached an alarming level following airstrikes on Iran, pledging to intensify diplomatic efforts to prevent further escalation.
* Abdulmalik al-Houthi, leader of Yemen's Houthi group, said on Thursday that they stand with Iran and are prepared to take action if need be.
* Dozens of Israeli airstrikes targeted areas across Lebanon overnight and early Friday, striking Beirut's southern suburbs, southern Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley amid escalating military tensions.
* France has authorized U.S. aircraft to make "temporary" use of French military bases in the Middle East, French media reported on Thursday.
* Italy does not intend to enter a war, but is willing to send defensive assistance to Gulf countries amid rising Middle East tensions, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said Thursday.
* Cyprus Defense Minister Vasilis Palmas said Thursday that the eastern Mediterranean island nation is not facing any direct threat from Iran, noting that recent drone incidents were directed at a British military facility rather than the Cypriot territory.
* A total of 204 people from the Iranian naval vessel IRIS Bushehr have been brought to Colombo Port, the Sri Lanka Navy said on Friday. Navy Media Spokesperson Commander Buddhika Sampath said IRIS Bushehr is scheduled to be taken to the eastern port of Trincomalee later on Friday.
* Sri Lanka's Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath has held separate telephone conversations with the foreign ministers of Israel and Iran as tensions continue to escalate in the Middle East, raising concerns over the safety of Sri Lankan nationals living in the region.
* The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Thursday that it has verified 13 attacks on health care in Iran and one in Lebanon amid the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
* France will strengthen its cooperation with the Lebanese Armed Forces and provide them with armored transport vehicles as well as operational and logistical support, French President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday.
* Kuwait's Ministry of Defense said on Friday that 67 personnel from the Kuwaiti Armed Forces were injured amid recent security developments, according to a briefing by the Government Communication Center in the country.
* The Turkish Defense Ministry on Thursday dismissed social media claims of "mass migration movements" from Iran toward the Turkish border amid escalating regional tensions.
* Airlines in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have adjusted flight operations as regional airspace closures continue to disrupt aviation activity, according to statements issued by the carriers Friday.
* Malaysia's food security remains stable despite the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, as the country's main sources of food imports are not directly linked to the nations involved in the conflict, Agriculture and Food Security Minister Mohamad Sabu said on Thursday.
* The first batch of 299 Filipinos repatriated from Dubai amid heightened tensions in the Middle East arrived in Manila early Thursday morning, Presidential Communications Secretary Dave Gomez said.
* Finland will seek to amend its Nuclear Energy Act and Criminal Code to lift a blanket ban on the import and domestic handling of nuclear devices, in a move the Ministry of Defense said on Thursday is aimed at aligning Finnish law with NATO's deterrence and defense.
* Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk on Thursday called on President Karol Nawrocki to approve the bill implementing the EU's Security Action for Europe (SAFE) program, and asked the National Bank of Poland (NBP) to provide precise information about its financial capacity and details of the proposed "SAFE 0%" plan.
* European Union (EU) countries on Thursday gave final approval to an amendment of the European Climate Law, setting a binding intermediate target to cut the bloc's net greenhouse gas emissions by 90 percent by 2040 compared with 1990 levels and reinforcing the EU's path toward climate neutrality by 2050.
* The Ferosplavna-1 330 kV power line has been restored and reconnected to the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) following repair work carried out under a local ceasefire, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said on Thursday.
* New Zealand will step up engagement with Brazil across trade, education and cultural sectors following Foreign Minister Winston Peters's visit to Latin America's largest country, a New Zealand government statement said Friday.
* Cambodia exported 247,822 tons of milled rice to international markets in the first two months of 2026, up 83 percent from 135,074 tons over the same period last year, said a Cambodia Rice Federation's report on Thursday.
* Myanmar's manufacturing sector attracted over 204 million USD in foreign direct investments in the past ten months of the current fiscal year 2025-2026, the state-owned daily The Global New Light of Myanmar reported on Friday, citing the Directorate of Investment and Company Administration (DICA).
* Two pilots of the Indian Air Force (IAF) were killed when the Sukhoi Su-30 MKI fighter jet they were flying crashed in the country's northeastern state of Assam on Thursday night, the IAF confirmed on Friday. The two-seater fighter jet had crashed in Assam's Karbi Anglong district while on a training mission.
