* U.S. envoy Jared Kushner said Thursday that Russian President Vladimir Putin would give European participation in Ukraine peace talks "a try," while fellow envoy Steve Witkoff said European representatives would join the next round of negotiations.
* Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday proposed organizing a humanitarian mission to evacuate civilians from Kostiantynivka in eastern Ukraine, drawing on previous experience in Oleshky.
* European countries could join talks on resolving the Ukraine conflict once their intentions and willingness to contribute to the peace process become clear, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Friday.
* China's top diplomat Wang Yi on Friday met with U.S. representatives attending the U.S.-China Political Dialogue 2026 in Beijing.
* Head of Israel's intelligence agency Mossad is visiting Washington on Friday as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu presses U.S. President Donald Trump to resume military operations against Iran, U.S. media reported.
* Russia will continue to steadily pursue its interests in international sports, President Vladimir Putin said Thursday at a meeting of the Council for the Development of Physical Culture and Sports held at the Kremlin.
*Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden agreed Thursday to begin drafting a common defense agreement to improve their armed forces' cross-border coordination and strengthen NATO's collective defense.
* The Afghan government and Russia signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on economic cooperation worth 103 million USD on Thursday to boost bilateral trade and economic relations, according to Hamdullah Fitrat, deputy spokesperson for the Afghan government.
* Indonesia and Papua New Guinea have signed a memorandum of agreement on cross-border healthcare cooperation to expand access to medical services for residents in border areas of the two countries, Aryoko Rumaropen, deputy governor of Indonesia's Papua province, said on Friday.
* Brazil on Thursday announced a financing initiative expected to mobilize about 39 billion reais (7 billion USD) for energy transition, industrial decarbonization and other sustainability projects in Brazil.
* Morocco and the African Development Bank (AfDB) signed a financing agreement worth 480 million USD on Friday in Rabat to support the third phase of a program aimed at strengthening economic governance and climate resilience, according to Morocco news agency MAP.
* Pakistani security forces have killed 31 terrorists during an intelligence-based operation in the country's southwestern Balochistan province, the military said on Friday.
* Iran's Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) said Friday that it had destroyed a U.S. early-warning radar on the island of Bahrain.
* Israel said Friday that more than 93,000 tents and over 8,600 truckloads of winter supplies had entered the Gaza Strip, a day after more than 50 countries and international organizations urged it to ease restrictions on humanitarian deliveries.
* Egypt on Thursday condemned an Israeli airstrike on Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, which killed at least six Palestinians and wounded more than 20 others, including children and medical personnel.
* The Palestinian Presidency on Thursday condemned what it described as a "dangerous" and ongoing Israeli escalation against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, warning that it could further destabilize the region.
* Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei on Thursday warned against any direct or indirect involvement by other states in the U.S. "acts of aggression" or "economic terrorism" against Iran.
* About 4,950 people from 1,123 households in five townships in southern Shan state, Myanmar, have been evacuated because of flooding, according to the local fire services department on Friday.
* Japan's agriculture ministry said Friday that a highly pathogenic avian influenza outbreak had been confirmed in Chiba Prefecture, near Tokyo, marking the country's second bird flu outbreak this season.
* At least 24 people were killed and many others injured Friday in a head-on collision between a minibus and a container truck in India's northeastern state of Assam, officials said.
