NEW YORK -- U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Friday that he is nominating Kevin Warsh, a former Federal Reserve governor, to be the next chair of the central bank.
The nomination, which came two days after the Fed's decision to keep the federal funds rate unchanged at 3.5 percent to 3.75 percent, needs to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate. (US-Fed Chair Pick-Kevin Warsh)
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ISTANBUL -- Iran's Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said on Friday in Istanbul that Iran is willing to negotiate with the United States but "cannot begin under threat."
"The United States has shown no goodwill and has never been trustworthy. Yet Iran remains ready for all diplomatic processes and is willing to sit at the negotiating table," Araghchi said at a press conference with his Turkish counterpart, Hakan Fidan. (Türkiye-Iran-Talks)
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DAMASCUS -- The Syrian interim government and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have reached a comprehensive agreement to halt hostilities and launch a phased integration of military and administrative structures in northern Syria, according to statements released Friday by both sides.
A source from the interim government told state broadcaster al-Ikhbariya that the agreement stipulates an immediate ceasefire and a sequential process to integrate SDF military and security personnel on an individual basis within newly formed units, while the state assumes full authority over all civil and government institutions, border crossings, and entry points. (Syria-SDF-Ceasefire)
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PARIS -- France's gross domestic product(GDP) increased by 0.9 percent in 2025, lower than the 1.1 percent growth in 2024 and the 1.6 percent growth in 2023, according to the National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies.
GDP grew by 0.2 percent in the fourth quarter last year, marking a slowdown after 0.5 percent growth in the third quarter. (France-GDP)
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BERLIN -- Germany had its highest number of unemployed in 12 years in January, with the total climbing above 3 million, official data showed Friday, as the labor market remained under pressure from a weak economy.
Unemployment surged to 3.085 million, a level last seen in February 2014, according to the Federal Employment Agency (BA). The jobless total rose by 177,000 from the previous month, pushing the unemployment rate up 0.4 percentage point to 6.6 percent. (Germany-Unemployment)
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MANILA -- The death toll from the sinking of a passenger and cargo vessel in the southern Philippines has risen to 31 after two more bodies were recovered on Friday, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said.
At least 316 people have been rescued, the PCG added.
The PCG said the search operations continue, while an investigation is underway to determine the exact number of missing individuals. (Philippines-Boat Sinking-Death Toll)
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TOKYO -- Persistent heavy snowfall driven by winter pressure patterns has hit many parts of Japan in recent days, leaving at least 14 people dead and 198 others injured nationwide, the country's Fire and Disaster Management Agency said on Friday.
As of Friday morning, Niigata prefecture recorded the highest death toll with seven fatalities, followed by Akita prefecture with three. One death each was reported in Hokkaido, Aomori, Yamagata and Shimane prefectures. (Japan-Heavy snowfall-Death) ■
