Malaysian premier Najib Razak, who was convicted of graft over the multibillion-dollar 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal, could be released by 2028 after his jail sentence was halved, prompting uproar from critics who called on the government to explain the decision.

The pardons board, chaired by Malaysia's king, said on February 2 it made the decision this week after reviewing an application for a royal pardon by Najib, who began serving a 12-year jail term in August 2022. It did not give a reason.

The Hague-based court in March 2023 issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin over the war in Ukraine and the alleged illegal deportation of children to Russia. Yerevan is now obligated to arrest the Russian leader if he sets foot on its territory.

Around 200,000 people took to the streets in Germany on February 3, most of them in the capital Berlin, as nationwide protests against the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party entered their fourth week.

Protests were also taking place in cities such as Mainz, Dresden, and Hanover, in a sign of growing alarm at strong public support for the AfD. Roughly 150,000 people flocked to the Reichstag parliament building in Berlin, where protesters gathered under the slogan "We are the Firewall" to protest against right-wing extremism and to show support for democracy.

President Nayib Bukele on February 4 secured a thumping victory in El Salvador's elections after voters cast aside concerns about erosion of democracy to reward him for a fierce gang crackdown that transformed security in the Central American country.

Provisional results on February 5 show Bukele winning 83 percent support with just over 70 percent of the ballots counted. Bukele declared himself the winner before official results were announced, claiming to have attained more than 85 percent of the vote.

The European Union on February 2 imposed sanctions against five individuals from Guatemala for undermining democracy, the rule of law, or the peaceful transfer of power in Central America's most populous nation. The listings include the attorney general of Guatemala, Maria Consuelo Porras Argueta De Porres, and three other officials at the Guatemalan Public Prosecutor's Office.

Senegalese police on February 4 cracked down on protests against the postponement of the presidential election, as parliament prepared to debate a bill that would reschedule the vote for August and extend President Macky Sall's mandate.

Sall announced on February 3 that the February 25 vote would be delayed to an unspecified date due to a dispute over the candidate list and alleged corruption within the constitutional body that handled the list. Some opposition and civil society groups have denounced the move as an "institutional coup."

Senegal’s President Macky Sall has indefinitely postponed the presidential election that was scheduled to take place on February 25. Speaking in a televised address to the nation on February 3, the president announced he had cancelled the relevant electoral law, citing a dispute over the candidate list.

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has rejected much of a case filed by Ukraine that accused Russia of funding separatist rebels in eastern Ukraine a decade ago, saying only that Moscow had failed to investigate alleged breaches.

Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi have been sentenced to 14 years in jail in a case related to the illegal sale of state gifts.

An accountability court in Rawalpindi, which deals with corruption cases, on January 31 also ruled that the couple would be ineligible to contest for public office for 10 years while also slapping a fine of 787 million rupees ($2.8 million) on each of them.