United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has condemned the detention of 10 more UN staff members by the Houthis in Yemen, accused of espionage for Israel and the US.

China's military will step up training and "take forceful measures" to safeguard the country's sovereignty and territorial integrity, the defence ministry announced on Friday in response to a planned $11.1 billion US arms sales package to Taiwan.

Aqil Keshavarz, an operative of the Zionist regimes intelligence service, the Mossad, and the regime's army, was executed in Iran.

An Iranian Foreign Ministry official has slammed Canadas latest sanctions on Iranian officials, calling the move baseless, meddlesome, and devoid of legal or moral legitimacy.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has warned that while famine in the Gaza Strip has been averted, the humanitarian situation remains extremely fragile, with more than 75% of the population facing acute food insecurity and critical risks of malnutrition.

European Union leaders have agreed to provide an interest-free loan to Ukraine to meet its military and economic needs for the next two years, EU Council President Antonio Costa has stated.

Ali Akbar Salehi, Irans former foreign minister and ex-head of the Atomic Energy Organization, has proposed a key diplomatic approach to revive negotiations between Iran and the US by changing the framing of talks rather than their substance.

The Iranian Red Crescent Society announced on Friday that 18,000 people affected by snowstorms, blizzards, and flooding, particularly in the southern regions of the country, have benefited from the Red Crescents relief operations.

An Iranian Red Crescent rescuer lost his life during rescue operations amid severe flooding in the southern city of Jahrom, officials said on Friday.

Irans Interior Ministry has announced new regulations governing the employment of foreign workers, particularly Afghan nationals, allowing them to work in Iran for nine months under a formal work visa before returning to Afghanistan for a three-month period.

Irans Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said the Islamic Republic and Russia have agreed on a three-year roadmap to strengthen bilateral cooperation.

Israel's former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, who is planning another run for office, confirmed that his Telegram account had been hacked, as Israeli media claimed the breach was carried out by an Iran-linked group.

A trilateral meeting between France, Saudi Arabia, and the United States on Lebanon will be held in Paris to discuss support for the Lebanese army and to set a date for a new international conference. Lebanese Army Commander Rodolphe Haykal will attend.

EU leaders kicked off a make-or-break summit Thursday on using frozen Russian assets to fund Ukraine, with key player Belgium under pressure to drop its opposition.

Ukraine has lost almost 500,000 servicemen this year alone, Russian Defense Minister Andrey Belousov has claimed.

The United States has approved $11.1bn in arms sales to Taiwan, one of Washingtons largest-ever military packages for the self-ruled island, which Beijing has promised to unify with mainland China.

Following heavy rainfall on Irans Hormuz Island, the turquoise waters of the Persian Gulf in southern Iran turned a striking blood-red, drawing widespread attention from international media and social networks.

President Volodymyr Zelensky will be in Brussels on Thursday to convince European partners to use frozen Russian assets to support Kyiv, despite Washington pressuring EU countries against the plan, a Ukrainian official told AFP.

NATO forces deployed to Ukraine under a peace deal could potentially engage Russian troops directly, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has warned.

The Islamic Republic of Iran strongly condemned the threatening statements and actions of the US against the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, including threats of a naval blockade and preventing the lawful export of Venezuelan oil.

The US Congress has permanently ended sanctions imposed on Syria under ousted leader Bashar al-Assad, paving the way for the return of investment to the war-ravaged nation.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has dismissed Western claims of an imminent attack by Moscow as lies and nonsense, stressing that such deliberate statements are meant to raise the level of hysteria on the continent.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has stated that he approved on Wednesday a major gas export agreement with Egypt worth nearly $35 billion.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has cautioned that Russia was preparing to wage a new "year of war" against his country in 2026, after his counterpart Vladimir Putin said Moscow would "certainly" achieve its objectives.

More than 17 million people in Afghanistan are facing crisis levels of hunger in the coming winter months, the leading international authority on hunger crises and the United Nations food aid agency has warned.