* UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Thursday that the world body is ready to scale up humanitarian relief to Gazans following the announcement of a ceasefire deal. He stressed that the silencing of the guns is not enough to turn this ceasefire into real progress.
* Peru's Congress leader Jose Jeri was sworn in as the country's president early on Friday, shortly after the Congress removed former President Dina Boluarte from office.
* Chinese Premier Li Qiang said on Thursday that China stands ready to strengthen high-level exchanges and strategic communication with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). Li, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, made the remarks during his meeting with Kim Jong Un, general secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) and president of the State Affairs of the DPRK.
* The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on Thursday held a grand commemorative meeting at the May Day Stadium to celebrate the 80th founding anniversary of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK), the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported Friday. Kim Jong Un, general secretary of the WPK and president of the State Affairs of the DPRK, delivered a speech at the event, which was attended by delegations from foreign parties and governments.
* The United States is sending about 200 troops to Israel to "oversee" the Gaza ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, U.S. media reported Thursday. The task force will "oversee, observe, make sure there are no violations" of the deal, a senior U.S. official told reporters.
* The Israeli government on early Friday approved a ceasefire deal with Hamas to end the war in Gaza and secure the release of all remaining hostages.
* Hamas said on Thursday that it has received guarantees from mediators and the U.S. administration confirming the complete end of the war in the Gaza Strip.
* China and India will resume direct flights before the end of this month, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun confirmed on Thursday.
* New Zealand and Singapore launched a new Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP) on Friday, as the two countries mark 60 years of diplomatic ties. New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Singapore's Prime Minister Lawrence Wong jointly announced the agreement in Auckland.
* The Kremlin said Thursday that there has been no substantive response from Washington to Russia's initiative on the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START). Moscow has not yet received a U.S. response to the initiative, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, noting that there is a "serious pause" in the dialogue process between Russia and the United States.
* Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed in a phone call on Thursday evening to postpone the first Arab-Russian Summit. The two leaders agreed to reschedule the summit, originally set to be held next Wednesday, "in light of the ongoing regional and international diplomatic efforts aimed at halting the aggression against Gaza," a statement from al-Sudani's media office read.
* Czech ANO party leader Andrej Babis, whose party won the country's parliamentary election earlier this month, spoke by phone with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday. In a post on X, Babis voiced his support for Ukraine and expressed hope for a swift end to the conflict. The two leaders also agreed to a potential in-person meeting next year in Ukraine.
* Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira held a phone conversation on Thursday with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio to discuss strengthening economic ties between the two countries, Brazil's Foreign Ministry said.
* U.S. President Donald Trump suggested on Thursday that Spain be expelled from NATO for refusing to increase its defense spending. Under pressure from Trump, NATO members in June agreed to raise their military spending to 5 percent of gross domestic product by 2035. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez rejected the target, calling it "incompatible with our welfare state and our world vision."
* India's External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on Friday announced the reopening of India's embassy in Kabul. Jaishankar made the announcement during his opening remarks at the meeting with visiting Afghan counterpart Mawlawi Amir Khan Muttaqi in New Delhi.
* A process had been set in motion to help restore external electricity to the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP), the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said on Thursday, following weeks of intensive contact with both Russia and Ukraine over the site's latest loss of off-site electricity amid the ongoing conflict.
* Fragments of detonated Russian missiles may have caused the crash of an Azerbaijani passenger jet in December, and Moscow will pay compensation, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday.
* A suspected terror cell was foiled Thursday in Antwerp, with three young adults arrested during police raids, the Federal Prosecutor's Office said. In a statement, the office said there were indications that the intention was to carry out a terrorist attack.
* The European Commission said on Thursday that it will launch an investigation into allegations that Hungary has been conducting spy activities in Brussels, according to multiple media reports.
* The United States and Argentina have finalized a 20 billion-U.S.-dollar currency swap framework aimed at stabilizing Argentina's financial markets amid a severe liquidity crunch, officials said Thursday. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confirmed the deal after four days of meetings in Washington with Argentine Economy Minister Luis Caputo and his delegation, attended also by IMF officials.
* Israel will release about 2,000 Palestinians, including minors and convicted militants, as part of a Gaza ceasefire agreement with Hamas, an Israeli official said on Thursday, ahead of a crucial overnight vote by the Security Cabinet and the full government.
* Indonesia has declared its readiness to actively participate in Gaza's reconstruction following the ceasefire, while calling for a permanent end to violence and broad humanitarian access, the country's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Friday.
* Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Thursday invited U.S. President Donald Trump to attend the signing of a Gaza ceasefire agreement in Egypt and urged that the deal be implemented without delay, the Egyptian presidency said.
* Iran's Foreign Ministry said on Thursday it supports any initiative to halt the war in Gaza, ensure the withdrawal of Israeli forces and deliver aid to Palestinians, following a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas.
* Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty and Palestinian Vice President Hussein al-Sheikh on Thursday discussed the recently reached Gaza ceasefire agreement, Egypt's Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
* Pakistani security forces killed 30 militants during a large-scale operation in the Orakzai district of the country's northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, days after an attack that left several soldiers dead, the military said on Friday.
* Philippine President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos has directed government agencies to immediately evacuate people in the coastal areas threatened by a tsunami after a powerful earthquake struck off the coast of Davao Oriental province in the southern Philippines on Friday morning.
* Powerful Typhoon Halong passed the Izu island chain south of Tokyo on Thursday, prompting Japan's weather agency to temporarily issue a special heavy rain warning and forcing hundreds of residents in the region to take refuge, local media reported.
* China's Ministry of Transport announced Friday that the country will charge special port fees on ships owned or operated by U.S. enterprises, organizations and individuals from Oct. 14.
* Cambodia exported products worth about 22.39 billion USD in the first nine months of 2025, up 12.9 percent from 19.83 billion dollars over the same period last year, said a report from the General Department of Customs and Excise released on Friday.
* South Africa's ocean economy has attracted more than 4 billion rand (about 233 million USD) in investment over the past decade, Minister of Forestry, Fisheries, and the Environment Dion George said Thursday.
* The number of foreign residents living in Japan has reached a record-high 3.95 million, as the country accepts more foreign workers amid a severe labor shortage, government data showed Friday.
