* Russia will exit the Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty in six months as part of a symmetrical response to the United States' pullout, the Interfax news agency cited Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov as saying on February 6.
* The French National Assembly on February 5 gave the green light to the government to implement an anti-riot law which would toughen sanctions against undeclared protests and troublemakers who use rallies to challenge public safety.
* US President Donald Trump said he will get a US-Mexico border wall built when delivering his State of the Union address Tuesday night, as he's trying to strike a unifying tone facing a divided Congress and a bitter fight over the wall funding.
* Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani said on February 5 no peace deal between the Taliban and the United States could be finalised without involving his government as "the decision-maker".
* Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on February 5 that he will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow later in February (Feb. 21) for more talks on Syria and Iran's presence in the country.
* Representatives of the Yemeni government and the Houthi rebels met in Jordan's capital Amman on February 5 to review the final list of prisoners to be exchanged under a swap agreement.
* Greece will support Croatia's entry into the Schengen area as soon as possible, and next year will be crucial when Croatia assumes the EU Presidency, Greek President Prokopis Pavlopoulos said on February 5 as he started a two-day official visit to Croatia.
* The UN Support Mission in Libya and the Libyan government on February 5 launched a US$202-million humanitarian response plan for more than half a million people in the country.
* The death toll from the collapse of a tailings dam in Brumadinho in Brazil's southeastern state of Minas Gerais reached 142 on February 5, local authorities said. A total of 194 people remain missing.
* Libyan Interior Minister Fat'hi Bashagha stressed in Tripoli on February 5 the importance of Libyan security for the Mediterranean countries.
* H1N1 flu has killed 16 people in Morocco, the government said Tuesday. The Ministry of Health said it is monitoring the situation closely with the WHO.
