Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced that Turkey and Egypt are working together to establish peace in Gaza and ensure stability in neighboring Libya. He made the remarks during a joint press conference with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in Cairo on Wednesday, according to Anadolu Agency. Erdogan emphasized that the two countries share a common goal of preserving Libya’s unity and territorial integrity to achieve lasting stability.

Expressing concern over the humanitarian situation in Gaza, Erdogan noted that despite several months of ceasefire, the humanitarian crisis continues. He reaffirmed Turkey’s commitment to ongoing cooperation with Egypt in efforts to restore peace in the region.

On bilateral trade, Erdogan said Egypt is already Turkey’s largest trading partner in Africa. Ankara aims to increase the current trade volume of 8–9 billion dollars to 15 billion dollars. He also expressed interest in expanding cooperation in maritime trade, transportation, freedom of navigation, and maritime security.

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul on Thursday called on China to show restraint in weapons development and to join future arms control initiatives. Speaking to reporters in Canberra during his visit to Australia, he warned that the expiration of the last U.S.-Russia nuclear treaty, New START, on February 5 has raised the risk of a renewed global arms race.

Disarmament advocates have expressed concern that the end of the treaty could encourage major nuclear powers to expand their arsenals, with China potentially accelerating its buildup. Wadephul emphasized that any future arms control framework must include China, noting that Beijing often speaks in favor of multilateralism and should now demonstrate its commitment by investing in trust and restraint in international relations.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio also recently called for a new agreement that includes China, arguing that meaningful 21st-century arms control is impossible without its participation. Experts cited in the report estimate China currently possesses about 550 strategic nuclear launch systems, fewer than the roughly 800 each held by the United States and Russia.

Russia announced that its last nuclear arms treaty with the United States has expired, ending mutual obligations on the number of deployed nuclear weapons. Moscow stated on Wednesday that the 2010 agreement, known as the New START treaty, officially expired on Thursday, freeing both sides from previous restrictions. The Russian Foreign Ministry said the United States did not respond to President Vladimir Putin’s proposal to extend the limits on missiles and warheads for another 12 months.

The New START treaty, signed in 2010 by then US President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, came into force in 2011 and was extended for five years in 2021 under President Joe Biden. The agreement had set specific limits on the number of nuclear weapons each side could deploy.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres expressed concern over the treaty’s expiration and called on Moscow and Washington to begin discussions without delay on a new framework for nuclear arms control.

At least 162 people were killed when armed militants attacked the villages of Oru and Nuku in Nigeria’s western Kwara State on Tuesday, February 4. Local lawmaker Mohammed Omar Bio confirmed the death toll and said a group called ‘Lakurawa,’ suspected to be linked to the Islamic State, was believed to be responsible. Witnesses reported that the attackers tied villagers’ hands, lined them up, and opened fire, also setting homes and shops ablaze. Several people, including the traditional ruler, remain missing as the army continues recovery and search operations.

Amnesty International condemned the attack, suggesting the death toll could exceed 170, and accused security forces of failing to act despite prior threats from gunmen over the past five months. Villagers said the assailants promoted jihadist ideology and demanded allegiance to Sharia law, which the community rejected during a religious gathering before the massacre.

Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq denounced the assault as a cowardly act of terrorism. Analysts said the incident highlights Nigeria’s worsening security crisis, marked by jihadist insurgency, banditry, and communal violence across multiple regions.

At least 23 Palestinians, including six children, were killed in Israeli tank shelling and airstrikes across the Gaza Strip, according to Gaza health officials cited by Reuters on Wednesday, January 4. The attacks struck areas in southern Khan Younis and northern Gaza City, where a doctor was killed while rescuing the wounded and a five-month-old infant also died. A resident, Abu Mohammad Haboush, said his family was sleeping when a tank shell hit their home, killing several relatives.

The Israeli military stated that the strikes were in response to Hamas gunfire that allegedly targeted Israeli troops near the border, injuring one soldier. Hamas condemned the attacks, saying they undermine efforts to stabilize the ceasefire and called for immediate international pressure to halt the violence. The incident occurred amid ongoing discussions over Gaza’s governance and reconstruction under the second phase of a ceasefire announced by U.S. President Donald Trump in January.

Gaza health officials reported that since the ceasefire began, Israeli attacks have killed at least 530 Palestinians, mostly civilians, while four Israeli soldiers have died in Palestinian assaults.

Human rights organization Odhikar reported that in 2025, India’s Border Security Force (BSF) committed severe abuses, including killings and torture, and illegally pushed more than 2,500 Muslims and Bengali-speaking people into Bangladesh. Among those forced across the border were Indian citizens and Rohingya refugees, according to the group’s annual human rights statistics released on Wednesday.

The report also detailed Bangladesh’s internal political and human rights situation in 2025, noting continued violence, extortion, and factional conflicts despite hopes for reform after the 2024 uprising. It documented allegations of torture and extrajudicial killings by law enforcement, ongoing political clashes among major parties, and persistent labor unrest in the garment sector. The interim government ratified the Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture in July 2025 and amended the National Human Rights Commission Act to strengthen detainee protections.

Odhikar’s findings further highlighted that enforced disappearances and human rights abuses declined under the interim government, while freedom of expression increased compared to the previous authoritarian period.

Malaysia’s immigration authorities have deported 135 foreign detainees from the Pineapple Town Immigration Detention Depot in Johor state after they completed their prison sentences. The deportees include 112 from Myanmar, 11 from Indonesia, nine from Bangladesh, two from Sri Lanka, and one from Cambodia. They were sent back to their respective countries on Tuesday through Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA-1 and KLIA-2) and the Pasir Gudang ferry terminal.

According to the immigration department, the deported individuals had served sentences under several laws, including the Torture Act (Act 574), the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 (Act 234), the Immigration Act 1959/63 (Act 155), and the Immigration Regulations 1963. All deportees have been placed on the immigration blacklist and are barred from re-entering Malaysia for a specified period.

The Johor Immigration Department stated that the repatriation program is conducted regularly to ensure that no foreign nationals remain in the country after completing their sentences.

The United States has deployed several warships off the coast of Haiti amid a worsening political crisis and rising gang violence. US military officials confirmed on Tuesday that the USS Stockdale, USCGC Stone, and USCGC Diligence have entered the Bay of Port-au-Prince. In a statement on social media, the US Embassy said the naval presence reflects Washington’s strong commitment to Haiti’s security, stability, and a brighter future. The deployment was ordered by US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth as part of Operation Southern Spear, a regional mission targeting drug traffickers in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific.

Haiti faces renewed political uncertainty as the term of its Presidential Transitional Council is set to expire on February 7. The country has not held elections since 2016, and former Prime Minister Ariel Henry resigned in 2024 under pressure from escalating gang violence. Large parts of Haiti remain under the control of rival armed groups accused of murder, rape, and kidnapping.

The United States has also imposed new visa restrictions on several senior Haitian officials accused of supporting or being linked to armed gangs.

Russia carried out a large-scale missile and drone attack targeting Ukraine’s energy infrastructure across five regions, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on Tuesday. He said the assault, which occurred on Monday, was the largest of its kind against Ukraine’s power system in nearly four years of war. According to Zelensky, Russia fired more than 70 ballistic and cruise missiles and deployed 450 drones to overwhelm Ukraine’s air defenses. The Ukrainian Air Force reported intercepting only 38 missiles, meaning many struck their intended targets.

The attacks caused significant damage to power plants and infrastructure in Kyiv and other areas. Private energy company DTEK described the assault as the most powerful strike of the year. The offensive came as temperatures dropped to minus 20 degrees Celsius, worsening civilian hardship. Zelensky accused Russia of choosing terror over diplomacy and urged allies to apply maximum pressure on Moscow.

The scale of the strikes and the severe winter conditions suggest prolonged disruptions to Ukraine’s energy supply and increased humanitarian strain.

At least fourteen people were killed when a migrant-carrying speedboat collided with a Greek coastguard patrol vessel near Chios Island on Tuesday evening. The crash occurred close to Mirsinidi beach, and rescue teams recovered the bodies from the sea, according to TRT World. Several others were injured in the incident.

Among the injured were seven children and two pregnant women, all of whom were taken to hospital for treatment. Two coastguard officers were also hospitalized following the collision. Reports indicate that the condition of four migrants remains critical.

Authorities have not released further details about the cause of the collision or the nationalities of those on board.

A United States F-35 fighter jet shot down an Iranian drone approaching the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier deployed in the Arabian Sea, according to a Reuters report cited by the source. A US official said the drone was identified as an Iranian Shahed-139 model and was heading toward the carrier when it was targeted and destroyed.

The incident occurred amid ongoing tensions over increased US military presence near Iran’s coast. It also comes ahead of scheduled talks between Iran and the United States in Istanbul, Turkey, on Friday regarding a nuclear agreement. The downing of the drone has drawn renewed attention to the already strained regional situation.

The report suggests that the timing of the drone incident, just days before the planned diplomatic discussions, may influence the tone and focus of those talks, though no official reactions were mentioned in the source.

French authorities have issued warrants against two Franco-Israeli citizens suspected of involvement in genocide for allegedly obstructing humanitarian aid deliveries to Gaza. The warrants, issued in July last year, target Nili Kupfer-Naouri of the group Israel Is Forever and Rachel Touitou of the group Tsav 9. They are accused of attempting to block aid trucks at the Nitzana and Kerem Shalom border crossings between January and November 2024. The suspects have been asked to appear before an investigating magistrate but have not been ordered arrested.

An NGO lawyer involved in the case described the move as unprecedented, marking the first time a country has launched an investigation into potential complicity in genocide through obstruction of humanitarian aid. Kupfer-Naouri’s lawyer said their actions were peaceful protests against aid being diverted by Hamas and other groups. Touitou defended her actions on social media, while Kupfer-Naouri called the French probe “anti-Semitic hysteria.”

The complaint was filed by Palestinian human rights groups, including Al-Haq and Al-Mezan. Sources indicated that up to ten more individuals could face similar warrants, while separate war crimes cases involving Franco-Israeli soldiers remain ongoing in France.

Cuba is maintaining communication with the United States amid heightened tensions over threats to halt oil supplies. A senior Cuban diplomat confirmed that while exchanges between Havana and Washington continue, they have not yet developed into formal talks. The contact intensified after U.S. President Donald Trump increased pressure on Cuba. Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Fernández de Cossío told Reuters that the U.S. government is aware of Cuba’s readiness for a serious and responsible dialogue.

The situation escalated following the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, a close ally of Cuba, by U.S. forces and his transfer to the United States. The incident, which also involved Maduro’s wife, has further strained relations and placed the Cuban government under additional U.S. pressure. De Cossío stated that although embassies and diplomatic channels remain active, no formal negotiation framework has been established.

In a separate interview with the Associated Press, De Cossío said that if dialogue begins, it could evolve into structured discussions in the future, but emphasized that Cuba’s constitution, economic system, and socialist governance are not open for negotiation.

A total of 404 former ministers, ambassadors, and senior officials from the European Union and its member states have called for firm and effective measures against Israel. In a joint statement released on Monday, they urged the EU to move beyond symbolic condemnations and take concrete steps to stop ongoing violations of international law in Gaza, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem. The proposed actions include suspending the EU–Israel Association Agreement and halting all forms of military assistance to Israel.

The statement emphasized that the EU must act in line with its founding values and principles to restore its credibility as a force for peace and welfare. The signatories warned that despite international peace efforts, the humanitarian and security situation in Gaza continues to deteriorate. They accused Israel of obstructing humanitarian aid and targeting civilians and aid workers.

The statement also condemned Israel’s restrictions on humanitarian access and called for the Rafah border crossing to be fully and permanently opened. It demanded an end to the misuse of the so-called “dual-use” policy that blocks relief supplies.

Columnist Mahmudur Rahman argues that India has become increasingly isolated in global and regional politics following its military and diplomatic setbacks. He describes how India’s dominance in South Asia, once symbolized by its size and economic power, has eroded after Pakistan’s technological and strategic advances, particularly in the 2025 air conflict. The article claims that Pakistan, with Chinese support, achieved notable success using advanced digital warfare tactics, while India suffered significant losses and international embarrassment.

Rahman writes that the United States, China, and Russia have reassessed their positions toward South Asia, with Washington reportedly recognizing Pakistan’s victory in the brief conflict. He contends that India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist policies and strained foreign relations have further isolated the country. The author also criticizes Bangladeshi political parties for maintaining fear-driven policies toward India despite shifting geopolitical realities.

The piece concludes by praising Bangladesh’s interim government under Muhammad Yunus for taking a firm stance against Indian influence and urges younger political leaders to maintain independence in foreign policy.