* The Thai Raksa Chart (Thais protect country) Party on February 9 accepted the remarks by King Maha Vajiralongkorn, who said involving the princess in politics is "inappropriate."
* The Republic of Korea President Moon Jae-in will consult with US President Donald Trump in the near future on the second summit between the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and the United States, RoK's presidential Blue House said Sunday (February 10). The Moon-Trump dialogue would come after top DPRK leader Kim Jong-un and Trump agreed to meet again later this month in Hanoi, Vietnam.
* Chinese Vice Premier Liu He will hold a new round of high-level China-US economic and trade consultation with US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin in Beijing from Feb. 14 to 15.
* Thousands of "Yellow Vest" protesters marched through Paris and other French cities on February 9 for the 13th consecutive weekend in a row, although their number was lower than those of previous weeks.
* German exports rose by 3 percent to an all-time record of nearly EUR1.32 trillion (US$1.49 trillion) in 2018, preliminary results published by the German Federal Statistical Office (destatis) on February 8 show.
* A cold snap hit the Japanese capital of Tokyo and some neighboring areas on February 9, resulting in cancellations of more than 100 flights to and from Tokyo.
* The RoK and the United States on Sunday signed a deal to share defense costs for US forces stationed in the RoK, according to local media reports.
* Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez on February 9 called on opposition leader and self-proclaimed "interim president" Juan Guaido to reconsider his course of action and stop "the madness of calling for an invasion."
* German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said she wanted to work very hard to preserve and develop multilateral structures at the Munich Security Conference next week.
* Bangladesh exporters have received spot orders worth around BDT2 billion (US$23.8 million) from international buyers at the the 24th edition of the country's largest Dhaka International Trade Fair (DITF) that ended Saturday.
* The death toll due to consumption of illicit liquor in northern India has risen to 72, officials has said.
* Thousands of people turned out in the Italian capital on February 9 for a joint mobilization called by Italy's "big three" trade union federations to demonstrate against some of the economic policies of Italy's rightwing-populist government.
* The presidential elections in Macedonia will be held on April 21, Macedonian Speaker of Parliament Talat Xhaferi said on late Friday. If a second round is needed, the elections will be held on May 5.
* Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi on February 9 met with visiting French Minister of Defense Florence Parly in Baghdad to discuss means of cooperation between the two countries.
* The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) started on February 9 the final attacks against the Islamic State (IS) militant group in eastern Syria, Kurdish activists reported.
* Up to 40 people including nine security personnel have been killed in Afghanistan over the past two days as both government forces and the Taliban outfit have intensified operations against each other, officials said Saturday.
